Painter Tod Hackett, working in the art department of a movie studio during the 1930s 'golden age' of Hollywood, falls in unrequited love with aspiring starlet Faye Greener. He competes for her affections against other men: a pair of cowboys and a forlorn accountant. As Faye's career fails to take her beyond roles as an extra, her life becomes increasingly desperate and her relationships with men take a darker turn, reaching fever pitch at a red-carpet...