Singer-songwriter Whitney Thorn is a 50-year-old recovered crystal meth addict and the well-known son of country music royalty. Struggling comedian and former nurse Graham Morrow is down and out at 35, living back home with his mother. They meet at an unauthorized, socially distanced show in a Louisiana field and take a chance on shacking up together.
At first, their bubble is untouched by tragedy. They create art at leisure and explore each other with curiosity and wonder. Friends from Whitney's checkered past check in with him regularly, worried he could relapse. Graham watches his mother, aunt, and cousin Sage struggle in isolation while he escapes into Whitney's world.
But with hurricanes ravaging other parts of the South and death tolls rising due to COVID-19, eventually trouble finds them. An unexpected surgery poses a serious risk. The presence of pain meds strains sobriety. Hospitalizations end in sudden losses. Homes are lost and must be rebuilt.
River Trash is a slice of Americana, a love story, and a bottle novel that takes place mainly indoors. Two men seek to know one another while a chaotic world swirls around them.
