Star (Sasha Lane) is a young American teenager living in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Star is old enough to take care her two younger siblings while she is constantly groped by their alcoholic father. While trying to hitchhike home one day, she spies a van full of teenagers and makes eye contact with Jake (Shia LaBeouf), one of the boys in the group.
Star follows them to a local K-Mart, and returns Jake's phone after it falls out of his pocket. Jake kisses her on the cheek and tells her to come with him to Kansas City, where he will offer her a job. Star declines but Jake nevertheless tells her to meet them in the parking lot of the local Motel 6.