Joe Scot (Daniel Craig) is a washed up Hollywood star, whose hedonistic lifestyle of sex, drugs, and celebrity has taken its toll. Handsome even in his drug-addled 40s, he leads a directionless, lonely life in his opulent Malibu mansion whilst outside the tide of public opinion has turned firmly against him. Only when confronted by tragedy is he forced to face up to the ghosts of his past.

Flashback to 1970's England and small town life set to the beat of Roxy Music and Bowie. Joe's rights of a passage as a young man (Harry Eden) in a tiny British seaside community lay the foundations for the Hollywood dream he goes on to experience. His budding sexuality, his boyhood camaraderie, the untoward advances of a voluptuous older woman, and his teenage actions lead to unforeseen, tragic consequences, which will ultimately force him to flee in search of a new life.