Hollywood, Ending

Set in 2019, the novel follows two young actors as they navigate fame, trauma, and love while making a movie about the final year of artist Andy Warhol's life.

Juniper Castillo, a 22-year-old former Nickelodeon child star, arrives in Pittsburgh to film Andy Warhol Never Gets Old, a biopic in which she plays a character named Carly. Juniper's career has stalled after a recent flop, and she sees the role as her chance to prove she can be a serious adult actor. She grew up under the control of her mother, an abusive stage parent with an alcohol addiction who stole Juniper's earnings and periodically abandoned Juniper and her brother on drinking binges. Juniper eventually fired her mother, who died not long before the novel begins.

In a hotel lobby, Juniper meets Kai Laramie, a 21-year-old from Indianapolis cast in his first feature film as Warhol's intern. Kai is magnetic and candid, showing Juniper a sketch he has drawn of her that evening. Their costar Matthew Malone, a massively famous action-franchise actor playing Warhol, hosts them alongside director Kathryn Johnson for a discussion about fame and art. Juniper resolves not to pursue romance with Kai, choosing to focus on her career.

Juniper and Kai settle into adjacent apartments and grow close as they prepare for the shoot. He runs lines at her apartment, confesses his terror about his first movie, and casually tells her he loves her before leaving. Juniper is charmed but cautious. Her agent sends two scripts for future projects, and Juniper is drawn to Gods of Andromeda, an epic fantasy in which she would play a queen named Agrippah. At the table read, studio executive Todd Simons and publicist Ellen Kim outline the promotional campaign.

During production, Juniper clashes with Kathryn, who directs her to play Carly as innocent when Juniper sees the role as worldly and self-destructive. Matthew proves generous on set, maintaining character during Juniper's shots to support her performance. As weeks pass, Juniper reveals the extent of her mother's abuse to Kai, including a routine in which her mother trained her to control her heart rate while being hit, a practice that perversely sharpened her acting skills. Kai deflects questions about his own past, alluding only to a trial at which he once testified. During an emotionally demanding scene shot overnight, Kai breaks down in his trailer, unable to access the deep emotion his character requires. Juniper reassures him, and when they return, he delivers a powerful performance in two takes.

Juniper flies to LA, auditions for Gods of Andromeda, and books the lead at $1.2 million, aided by Matthew, who offered to make another film for the studio if Juniper is cast. Kai confesses he is "a little in love" with Juniper but "a bit fucked up when it comes to that stuff" (51). Juniper recognizes his emotional unavailability as their Obstacle, the narrative term she uses for what keeps two romantic leads apart. Filming wraps with a love scene between their characters, and Kai tells Juniper she made it safe for him "to go to the deepest places" (76). On their last night in Pittsburgh, they sit on a rooftop and exchange declarations of love, though Juniper privately doubts their bond will outlast the shoot.

The novel's second part shifts to Kai's perspective months later as he prepares for a press junket, a coordinated round of promotional media interviews, in New York. During media training, Ellen presses Kai to disclose potential scandals. He reluctantly reveals that a high school English teacher sexually abused him over two years. Another student reported the abuse; Kai was selected to testify at trial because the other student had a drug charge. The teacher died in prison. Ellen urges Kai to get ahead of the story publicly, but he refuses.

In Los Angeles, Kai and Juniper screen the finished film. Kai is deeply moved; Juniper presents detailed editing notes to the producers, who tell her the movie is essentially locked. Kai meets with Gods of Andromeda director Brian Arawas about a supporting role but is reluctant. During a night out, a stranger jumps into their Uber, and Kai pulls the man out and throws him to the ground. The incident goes viral, boosting Kai's profile. Emboldened, Kai declines the supporting role, unwilling to play a minor part. Within hours, the studio offers him the male lead, Gavinth, at $700,000, citing his chemistry with Juniper. Kai signs a test deal, a preliminary contract contingent on final approval.

At a chemistry read, a screen test to assess on-screen compatibility, Juniper whispers for Kai to give her the same look he gave her while watching a movie together. Their connection wins the room, and Kai beats out established actor Charles Oldham for the role. Then a gossip site publishes an article exposing Kai's childhood abuse, headlining him as the hero who put his abuser in jail. His agent tells him the story "helps us" (177). In a quiet moment, Kai tells Juniper the full story. She responds without pity, telling him she is angry for him and that she loves him.

The third part covers the exhausting press junket across New York and Paris. A New Yorker reporter named Jill reveals that the man from the Uber incident was not a real fan but a plant arranged by Todd. Kai confronts Ellen, who admits Todd orchestrated the stunt. A Twitter thread from another of Kai's abuser's victims accuses Kai of "stolen valor" for not having reported the abuse himself and blames Juniper for leaking the story. Kai gives a damage-control interview acknowledging the truth and defending Juniper.

During a rare half-day off, Kai confesses that his love for Juniper is not occasional but "incessant" (228), and that his fear of sexualizing love, rooted in the abuse, has been their true Obstacle. They sleep together for the first time. The film receives a standing ovation at its Paris premiere. At the New York premiere, as Kai and Juniper reach the end of the red carpet, Matthew casually reveals that he leaked Kai's abuse story, having sent someone to investigate Kai's high school. He justifies the betrayal: "Look how great it all turned out" (245). Kai is devastated but sits through the screening and Q&A praising Matthew. That night, he slips out of the afterparty, takes a cab to JFK, throws his phone in a trash can, and flies to Jamaica.

The final part returns to Juniper's perspective. The studio tells Juniper that if Kai does not return, both actors will be recast from Gods of Andromeda because they are marketed as a package. Juniper fires her publicist, Katie, after Katie calls the abuse story "gold" (271), and flies to Jamaica. Their first encounter is hostile: Kai accuses Juniper of caring more about her career than about him, and she counters that disappearing on people who love you mirrors the abandonment she experienced from her mother. Over several days, they reconnect by watching movies, swimming, and running lines. Juniper tells Kai she would rather the film be recast than do it without him. Moved, Kai calls Todd and dictates his terms: He and Juniper will do the film but will not campaign for awards for Andy Warhol Never Gets Old.

In the epilogue, the Warhol film earns over $100 million globally. Both actors receive Independent Spirit Award nominations but are shut out of larger prizes because they refuse to campaign. Matthew receives an Oscar nomination and never acknowledges the harm he caused. Kai and Juniper film Gods of Andromeda in Vancouver, keeping their relationship private. Production halts in March 2020 due to the pandemic, and they spend the shutdown in Indianapolis near Kai's family, beginning couples therapy. The novel closes with Juniper reflecting that survival itself is the achievement, and that with work and time, "one day, you survived" (291).