Rylee Hill, Kate Hallett is a troubled, bullied teenage girl who clings to the music of Payton Adler, a larger-than-life rock star whose songs feel like a lifeline. With a father who works as a cop and is often away, and a tense dynamic with his girlfriend, Rylee searches for belonging in a world that feels unstable and loud. The soundtrack of her life is the band Floorplan, and Payton’s songs offer a strange comfort that she can’t find anywhere else.
Rylee heads to Payton’s concert with her only close friend, Sidney, known as Sid, who is played by Aya Furukawa. Sid leaves early to meet a boy she’s seeing, Chris, while Rylee stays behind in the crush of the crowd, hoping for a chance to meet Payton himself. When Sid does not return to pick her up, Rylee is left alone and effectively abandoned at the venue, a moment that seals the precarious bond she feels with Payton and his music.
Payton Adler, Herman Tømmeraas, is depicted as an addict, reliant on drugs to function, a reality that complicates every interaction with fans and his tour world. His tour manager keeps him out of reach, and after the show Payton darts away to fulfill a dangerous craving. In the parking lot, he accidentally hits Rylee with his car as she drinks nearby, an event that could reveal too much about his fragile state. He offers her a ride to avoid attention, hoping to hide the “almost crime,” a gesture that only deepens the entanglement between them.
During the ride, Payton’s distraction—texting while driving—leads to more danger. He makes a quick stop to buy and use drugs, while Rylee speaks earnestly about her devotion to his music and what his songs have meant to her. In a reckless turn, he runs a red light, nearly causing a major crash, and ends up stopping a few blocks from Rylee’s quiet, empty home. Her guardians are away, and in a moment of impulsive sanctuary, she helps him inside, provides water, and remains beside him as Sid unexpectedly returns and is shocked by the sight of Payton in Rylee’s space.
Payton becomes increasingly unhinged, dropping pills in front of them and locking himself in the bathroom in a storm of anger. Sid and Rylee attempt to stabilize him, ultimately getting him to lie down. In a desperate decision, Rylee retrieves a set of handcuffs and restrains him to the bedpost, believing she is giving him a chance to detox.
The morning after, Rylee is convinced this is her purpose: to keep Payton there and help him through withdrawal. Sid, however, is not so sure, and the plan to hold him for a few days becomes a point of mounting tension. The search for Payton by his manager intensifies, though the manager herself doubts that anything serious is happening given Payton’s history of relapses and disappearances. As Payton’s volatility grows, he lashes out, hitting Sid and escaping while Rylee and Sid attempt to move him to a nearby vacant house. A struggle escalates into a clash that ends with Sid’s life tragically cut short; Rylee accidentally kills her while attempting to quiet a passer-by’s screams.
In the aftermath, Rylee tries to shift the blame by framing Chris for Sid’s murder. She then has a raw, heartfelt exchange with Payton, recounting her mother’s death and explaining how Floorplan’s music saved her life, a moment that binds them in a strange, deadly intimacy. Marnie, Ron Hill’s girlfriend, eventually locates Payton and pleads for his help, but Rylee takes matters into her own hands and kills Marnie with a bat. Afterward, she tends to Payton, confessing love and offering her mother’s necklace as a symbol of trust and connection. Payton pretends to return the sentiment, showing her lyrics he’s written, and then makes an escape.
The scene shifts to a morning breakfast where the family’s routine resumes, but the police and duty calls soon follow. Ron Hill is summoned to a murder scene, where Payton is found dead and Marnie’s body lies in the car. The necklace is discovered around Payton’s neck by Rylee’s father, who hides it as the truth remains elusive. A year passes, and Rylee has managed to evade consequences. In the public eye, Payton’s death is attributed to an overdose, but the clues point to a murdered life. Payton Adler’s lyrics become the seed for a song released by his band, leading to a posthumous Grammy that elevates his memory into legend, while the world remains uncertain about the real chain of events that led to the tragedies surrounding them.
