A pretty California teen clings to her innocence while living in San Francisco, and embracing a career as an adult film starlet in this gritty drama featuring James Franco, Lili Taylor, and Heather Graham. Enticed into posing nude by her depraved boyfriend (Jonny Weston), shy high school student Angelica ( Ashley Hinshaw) falls into the world of fetish photography, and begins to see a means of escaping her dead-end life. Meanwhile, as Angelica weighs her options while struggling to be a good role model for her impressionable younger sister, their shrewd mother (Taylor) and shady step-father offer little solace. Under the guidance of a sensitive female porn director (Graham) Angelica stands a good chance of becoming a big star, but as the conflicted teen bares her soul to her understanding best friend (Dev Patel, she finds herself falling under the spell of a drug-addicted lawyer (Franco) who may be her undoing.