Tina, now in her 40s, is a famous Iranian painter living in Manhattan, but her life is fraying at the seams. Born in 80s and raised in the chaos of 90s Tehran, where the American dream and rock music flickered like dreams never come true, Tina grew up fighting for a freedom that always felt like a crime. Now, married to a great husband with her dream job and life, she’s struggling in ways she never expected. Stuck in a creative block for her latest career-defining project, Self.
Amidst this struggle, memories of a boy named Gus returns. Their accidental meetings in the dive bars and cafés of Grand Rapids. Right places, wrong times, and feelings that are left unresolved. Her search for him becomes a borderline obsession, as she’s convinced that finding Gus could be the key to unlocking the art—and the self—she’s lost.