At the Daytime Television Awards in New York City, David Seton Barnes (Robert Downey Jr.), producer of the soap opera 'The Sun Also Sets', walks the red carpet with two of the show's stars, the menacing Montana Moorehead (Cathy Moriarty) and buxom Ariel Maloney (Teri Hatcher). As they speak with reporters, however, their fans are distracted by the arrival of beloved, twelve-time Best Actress nominee, Celeste Talbert (Sally Field). While the actors enter the venue, a young woman (Elisabeth Shue) struggles to get a glimpse of Celeste from behind the crowd.Inside, Celeste wins her award and thanks her co-stars, who silently seethe at her success. Later, she returns to her lavish apartment and is distraught to discover that her lover has gone home to his wife and children.At the television studio, Montana promises to consummate an affair with David if he agrees to give her more screen time and write Celeste out of the show. Meanwhile, Celeste's admirer sneaks into the office of casting director Betsy Faye Sharon (Carrie Fisher) and introduces herself as Lori Craven, an aspiring actress desperate to appear on the program. Having just heard of an opening, Betsy casts her as a homeless background actor.Self-conscious about her age, Celeste throws an on-set tantrum about her mature, "Gloria Swanson-esque" costumes. To lift her spirits, Celeste's head writer and confidante, Rose Schwartz (Whoopi Goldberg), takes her to a suburban New Jersey mall for some shopping, where she draws attention to the actress's presence by pretending to be a fan. As dozens of doting housewives swarm around her, Celeste signs autographs and basks in the crowd's admiration.Back at the studio, David and Montana determine that the only way to turn viewers against Celeste is if her character murders one of the homeless, hoping that the shocking twist will also boost the show's declining ratings. David and his team decide to promote Lori to play Celeste's victim, but, concerned that she may not be able to act, write her character as a deaf mute. When Celeste initially objects to the plot, David feigns an anxiety attack, claiming that network executives forced him to make the decision.During rehearsal, Celeste recognizes Lori as her niece from Iowa, and is deeply distressed to learn that she dropped out of college to pursue acting. Frustrated that nothing is going according to plan, David and Montana conspire to find Celeste's former lover, Jeffrey Anderson (Kevin Kline), whom she had fired from 'The Sun Also Sets' twenty years earlier. Now performing in a pitiful dinner theater production of 'Death of a Salesman' at a kitschy Florida steakhouse, David tracks Jeffrey down and suggests he reprise his original character, who will come back from the dead to begin an affair with Celeste. After many drinks, Jeffrey agrees, planning to exact revenge.Although Celeste's mood greatly improves with Lori's presence, she quickly snaps again when she learns of Jeffrey's return, and that the newest script reveals her to be Montana's onscreen mother. As Celeste struggles to suppress her resurfacing attraction to Jeffrey, the two clash on set. Witnessing the fight, Lori requests that Jeffrey be congenial with her aunt, and accepts his flirtatious invitation to dinner that evening. Meanwhile, Celeste's unbearable self-loathing compels her to step in front of a bus, but her suicide attempt fails when the driver recognizes her and slams the brakes.When Lori announces she is leaving for her date with Jeffrey, Celeste flies into a seemingly jealous rage and follows her niece to his apartment. Once the couple goes upstairs, Celeste asks the doorman for Jeffrey's apartment number and creeps to the side of the building. Lori borrows a book and prepares to leave, and Jeffrey admits that he originally asked her out to make Celeste jealous, but has since developed feelings for her. As Lori leans in for a kiss, Jeffrey suddenly becomes uncomfortable and diverts his lips to her forehead. From the fire escape, Celeste watches through the window as Jeffrey undresses, and, assuming Lori is still inside, shimmies across a narrow ledge to get a better view. When the cement crumbles under her feet, she screams and hangs from a drainpipe until Jeffrey pulls her back inside. Celeste frantically searches the apartment for Lori as Jeffrey taunts her about her lingering affection for him. He kisses her, and she warns him to stay away from her niece before returning the kiss and stomping out.The next day, Montana and David write a new scene that includes a romantic embrace between Lori and Jeffrey's characters. Distraught, Celeste attacks Jeffrey as the two co-conspirators watch in amusement. Unaware that the television cameras are still rolling, the actress admits that Lori is her illegitimate daughter conceived on her fourth date with Jeffrey. Prevented by her contract from making her pregnancy public, Celeste gave infant Lori to her mother in Iowa and vengefully had Jeffrey written off the show. Later, David attempts to explain Celeste's behavior to network executives, but head programmer Edmund Edwards encourages her to stay because the story will generate tremendous publicity.As Lori's role on the show expands and her character regains her voice, Montana becomes enraged at the girl's rising popularity. Celeste attempts to apologize, subconsciously reciting a speech from one of her former episodes. One day, while Celeste begs Jeffrey to speak to their daughter, the two begin to kiss, but are interrupted by Montana, who angers Celeste by pretending to have had a tryst with Jeffrey. Already nearing a nervous breakdown, Celeste later discovers that a tabloid newspaper published a story claiming Montana is pregnant with Jeffrey's child. When Celeste, Jeffrey, and Lori all threaten to quit the show, Mr. Edwards decides to shoot a live episode where the actors will learn their fate while reciting their lines from a teleprompter.During a dramatic surgery scene, Jeffrey vainly refuses to wear his glasses and struggles to read his dialogue. As the actors begin to deviate from the script, Lori breaks character to plead with her mother not to leave. With the cameras still recording, she vows to accept Jeffrey and Celeste as her parents if they promise not to lie to her. Crew members and viewers alike burst into tears, until Ariel and Rose enter the scene to debunk the rumors of Montana's pregnancy by exposing her as transgender. Montana runs screaming from the set as David nauseously leaves the stunned Mr. Edwards' office.In the final scenes, Lori, Jeffrey, and Celeste all win Daytime Emmy Awards for their performances, and Montana, now known as "Milton," assumes the role of "Willy Loman" at Jeffrey's former Florida dinner theater.