A Soft Place to Land

Twelve-year-old Joy falls in love with film scores after attending a New York Philharmonic performance of the Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back soundtrack with her mother, Naomi. The experience inspires Joy's dream of becoming a film composer, beginning with learning piano. But her plan is disrupted when her father, Evan, loses his job and her parents can no longer afford their mortgage. They sell the house and move into a small apartment.

On moving day, Joy meets Nora Ramos, a girl from the same building who attends her new middle school, Webster. Nora is an aspiring filmmaker writing a screenplay inspired by her late mother, Nadia Ramos, who died of colon cancer when Nora was six. Joy confides about losing her house, and Nora responds with empathy, mentioning a "top secret" place in the building where Joy can escape.

Apartment life proves difficult. Joy overhears her parents arguing through the thin walls. Naomi urges Evan to take a job at a local hardware store; he refuses and instead wants to partner with his brother Spencer's construction business. Joy worries her parents might split up and comforts her six-year-old sister, Malia, who also hears the fighting. The situation worsens when her parents announce they cannot afford a piano or lessons for Joy. At the bus stop, Nora introduces Joy to the other building kids: Elena, who loves live-action role-playing (LARP); Miles, a Black boy who shares Joy's passion for Star Wars; and Oliver, a quiet artist. Mae Willoughby, the elderly neighbor, visits with her French bulldog, Ziggy, and Joy and Malia bond with him instantly.

Nora takes Joy to the building's secret: the Hideout, an underground room hidden beneath a trapdoor in a storage closet. Decorated with Christmas lights, beanbag chairs, and a fabric mural, it has been used by building kids for ten years. Two rules govern the space: Adults must never find out, and everyone must keep it clean. Joy's anxiety about her parents deepens when Evan spends a night at Uncle Spencer's house. At a thrift store, Joy spots a used piano for six hundred dollars, but Naomi says they cannot afford it. Joy resolves to earn the money herself.

When Joy learns that Mae's worsening knee has limited Ziggy's walks, she volunteers to walk him, and Mae offers to pay. Joy recruits Nora, and after presenting a formal proposal to their parents, they begin walking Ziggy daily, each earning twenty dollars a week. Joy stores her earnings in a manila envelope labeled "piano savings" and works through a piano theory workbook. They soon expand the business, naming it Joyful Dog Walkers, and secure three additional clients. Carlos, the building superintendent, agrees to let them into apartments when owners are at work.

While alone in the Hideout, Joy discovers a new poem on the wall in pale blue block letters describing someone tired of smiling while falling apart inside. She writes a response, and over the following days, an anonymous exchange develops. Joy compares her own situation to being flung by a slingshot, searching for "a soft place to land." She becomes determined to identify the author, ruling out Miles and Elena through conversations and suspecting Oliver. Then a troubling message appears: "You don't have to worry about me anymore." Joy finds the words ominous.

Joy's home life continues to fracture. Evan does not get the job he interviewed for, and her parents announce he will move out temporarily while they attend couples counseling. Joy confronts them, saying she is tired of being the strong one for Malia while hiding her own feelings. Malia, echoing words Joy has often said to her, tells Joy it is okay to cry.

Overwhelmed, Joy lies to her parents and says she is sleeping at Nora's. Instead, she goes to the Hideout alone and cries herself to sleep. The next morning, Naomi discovers Joy was never at Nora's and uses a phone tracking app to find the trapdoor. Joy's parents inform Carlos and the other families. Carlos locks the Hideout permanently because it lacks a proper emergency exit. Joy is grounded, though she may continue walking dogs. Elena, Miles, and Oliver are furious and refuse to speak to her. Nora remains sympathetic but cannot fully repair the divide.

While walking Ziggy, Nora accidentally reveals she knows the content of the final Hideout message. Joy presses her, and Nora admits she wrote the poem and all the anonymous messages. Nora tearfully explains the poem was about getting her first period and missing her mother, an experience too painful to share. Her father did not know how to help, which intensified her grief. Joy insists Nora should have trusted her; Nora counters that friendship does not require sharing every secret. They argue, and Joy tells Nora to leave.

The next day, Nora does not show up. Joy walks all four dogs alone, and a sudden thunderstorm frightens them. Ziggy's leash slips from her grip, and he bolts into the park. Joy returns the other dogs and searches, but Ziggy is gone. She confesses to Mae, and her parents suspend the business. Joy creates lost-dog flyers and distributes them around the neighborhood, slipping one under Nora's door, but Nora still will not speak to her.

Joy organizes a search party of about twenty volunteers, including Carlos, Mae, Elena, Miles, and Oliver. After an hour of searching, no one has found Ziggy. Inspired by a neighbor's remark that dogs always find a safe space, Joy asks Carlos to unlock the old Hideout. He finds Ziggy on a beanbag chair, injured and dehydrated but alive, having climbed through a small window. Mae reunites with Ziggy, and a vet confirms a leg fracture that will heal.

Joy discovers an unused basement room that, unlike the old Hideout, meets safety codes. She gets the building owner's approval to convert it into a hangout, offering to pay with her savings. Over several days, Joy, Elena, Miles, and Oliver clean and paint the room, moving in furniture and Christmas lights from the original space. Naomi helps with design decisions. Joy photographs the original Hideout's wall art to preserve the memories. At a thrift store, she buys a projector and sets it up to display "A Short Film by Nora Ramos, coming soon."

Joy lures Nora to the basement by pretending a dog is hurt. When Nora sees the room and the projector, she is moved. Joy apologizes for pressuring Nora, and Nora apologizes for lying. They reconcile. Elena, Miles, Oliver, Carlos, and Naomi emerge from the hallway, and the group celebrates. Later, Nora tells Joy she has spoken with her aunt about her experience and feels better, though she still misses her mother deeply.

In a final family meeting, Joy blurts out her fear of divorce. Both parents deny it: Evan explains the counseling is going well and he plans to move home soon. He has partnered with Spencer's construction company, which has booked its first major job. Naomi shares that a neighbor's retired wife, a former piano teacher, has offered to let Joy practice anytime, and Evan's income can now cover lessons. Joy reflects that what made her old house and the Hideout meaningful were the people inside them. The apartment has become home because of her family, friends, and community. She renames the basement room "Home Base," signifying what the space and the five friends will be for one another: a place of belonging.