ASHTON is a 34-year-old, aspiring musician, living in New Mexico with his dad, TAYLOR, and little brother, SAGE. He works at the local bar owned by EDDIE where Ashton also performs his music with his fellow band member friends, TERRY, DARREN and ROBERT.
He has a shaky relationship with his girlfriend, JESSE. There’s also tension between himself and Taylor, especially when it comes to the subject of his deceased elder brother, JOHNNY, and estranged mother, MOM (no name given).
Terry is a radio DJ and calls in a favor with a New York City record exec, ROBERT. He gets Ashton a chance to audition for a recording contract. As he leaves, Jesse tells Ashton that she won’t wait for him. Eddie, Terry, and Sage wish him luck, and Taylor does his best to bid his son good fortune. He thinks that he’s leaving all his troubles behind.
When Ashton arrives in New York, he proves to be less than street-wise after he chooses to spend the night in his truck in the meat-packing district. He also gets lost on his way to meet with Robert and arrives late. Robert politely tells him that it’s not a good time for singer-songwriters and there’s very little that he can do for Ashton. He tells him about a club called “The River” where he can audition for the manager, MITTEN.
Ashton reluctantly gets a place on the Lower Eastside and goes to The River where he meets with Robert. While they talk, Ashton’s spots a striking looking girl, but loses track of her.
Ashton is constantly crosses paths with this girl until they meet up at The River again. Her name is ISBIE and she’s a singer from England. Isbie introduces Ashton to her English friend, NEIL. The three hang out with each other.
At a party in Robert’s loft, Ashton tells Isbie about Johnny committing suicide in the Air Force after being tormented for being gay. He explains that it was Taylor who pushed Johnny into joining the Air Force to “make a man out of him”. Ashton has a flashback of his mom walking away from the family as he tells her that his mom is living in Texas and works as a drama teacher and that she never visits New Mexico. Isbie and Ashton become romantically involved soon after.
Ashton’s audition with Mitten goes badly. He begs Mitten for another chance and he promises to do what he can for Ashton.
At Isbie’s show, while Ashton and Neil are together, they take cocaine and Ecstasy. Ashton spots Robert and goes over to talk to him. Starting to feel the effects of the drugs, Ashton decides to go on stage to play a song. Both Mitten and Neil try to stop him, but Ashton persists. Robert is talking to Isbie about business when they hear Ashton begin to sing. Isbie is impressed, yet angry with him for stealing her spotlight. When Ashton comes down from the stage, Robert compliments him. Isbie and Neil lead him away from Robert and Mitten before the two men realize he’s high.
Isbie has Neil take Ashton to their loft and, on the way over, Neil says he has a thing for him. Ashton nicely shrugs it off. When Isbie arrives she checks on Ashton and finds Neil in the bathroom, passed out with a needle stuck in his arm. When she slaps him, he comes to. She tells Neil to stop taking drugs, so he promises to quit. Isbie takes Ashton to her room where they have sex.
Meantime, Neil is out in the front, getting high on coke. Ashton wakes up alone in Isbie’s bed and finds Neil sitting at his computer working on his photography. Isbie is meeting with Robert. Neil obliquely warns him about Isbie and not to lose track of why he came to New York City.
During the meeting, Isbie’s mean streak surfaces as she confronts Robert about Ashton. He assures her that he has no intentions of representing Ashton and they kiss on his couch.
Ashton is at a bowling alley bar when he gets up and calls his mom in Texas. He asks her why she left and she tells him that it was because Johnny was “a fag”.
Later on, as he’s kissing Isbie in her room, Ashton asks her about Robert. Isbie lies to him. As their relationship progresses, Robert is cold to her and Ashton begins to notice the looks between Robert and Isbie. When Ashton confronts her again, she just stares at him. He orders Robert to be nice to Isbie.
Ashton and Isbie are having dinner in Greenwich Village and he starts to tell her that he’s going back to New Mexico. An aspiring photographer comes up to solicit his services to Isbie. Ashton drives him away and Isbie gets mad. They argue. She throws his lyric book into a moving trash truck and he hits her. When the cops come, Isbie refuses to press charges and she leaves Ashton alone on the street.
He talks to Neil about what happened with Isbie. Neil consoles Ashton, explaining that her career is the only thing that she trusts. Neil kisses him full on in the mouth and Ashton leaves.
We next see each of them turning to their means of solace: Isbie singing to her audience, Ashton playing his guitar and Neil shooting up drugs. Things go wrong for Neil when blood appears in the syringe and he convulses. Both Isbie and Ashton sense Neil’s demise. Ashton runs to the loft and finds Neil dead.
Isbie apologizes to Ashton for everything. She mentions the memorial that she’s holding for Neil, but Ashton declines telling her that he’ll have his own private one for Neil.
On his way back to New Mexico, he has flashbacks of Neil. Ashton is pleased to be back home and has a nice dinner with his family. He tells Taylor about the phone call to his mom and they make peace with each other.
Ashton goes to Eddie’s bar and the two friends catch up.
Meanwhile, Isbie is at the River performing when she dedicates a song to Neil as Robert and Mitten watch on.
Back at Eddie’s bar, Ashton spots Jesse and is about to make-up with her when her new guy, DARREN comes over. Ashton leaves after a while. He has a flashback of Johnny giving a young Ashton a guitar and telling him that the guitar will always be with him. Ashton goes to be alone on a nearby mountainside as a storm approaches. He has his personal memorial to Neil with a series of visual memories of his New York experiences.