In 1958, Marla Mabrey (Lily Collins), a devout Baptist beauty queen from Virginia and an aspiring actress, arrives in Hollywood only a few weeks after Frank Forbes (Alden Ehrenreich), Marla's driver, an ambitious young businessman, and devout Methodist. Both of them long for success under their contracts with billionaire filmmaker, famed aviator, and notorious womanizer Howard Hughes (Warren Beatty). The pair have an instant attraction, but this is hindered by the strict rules laid down by Hughes that prohibit any romantic or sexual interaction between his employees.