A struggling actress who moonlights as a dancer in the New Orleans' French Quarter falls in love with a man who is not what he seems.

SYNOPSIS:

Set in present-day New Orleans, Wandering Star tells the story of an actress who dances in a Bourbon Street strip club to make ends meet. She is attacking overwhelming and mounting Student Loan Debt. Having tried her luck in New York, she, like many other thespians, had to retreat to a place more manageable. Star is highly educated, talented, and passionate about her craft.

As a result of her secret sideline job and her family’s disapproval of her chosen profession in the theater, Star remains distant from her loved ones, leaving her desperate for love and affection. On a beautiful summer day, she unexpectedly meets Michael, and their chemistry is immediate. He invites her to join him and his friends for afternoon drinks, and from that moment onward, they become inseparable.

Michael is instantly captivated by Star. He is intrigued by her passion for theater and her art — an intensity lacking in his own life. However, Michael harbors his own secrets. While Star’s struggle to reconcile her work as a stripper with her graduate degree is challenging, Michael’s secrets are far darker.

Michael is the kingpin of an international human trafficking organization. Star is not the only person from whom he must hide this truth. Michael grew up with a tight-knit group of childhood friends — individuals with whom he shares blood ties, past romantic relationships, and a history of cohabitation. These are the people he most desperately needs to conceal his secrets from as well.

Michael is acutely aware that he has never experienced true love and yearns for it deeply. The clash between his emotional desires and the grim truths of his life has created a profound and dark internal struggle. Similarly, Star’s dual existence as an auditioning actress by day and a stripper by night complicates her ability to form an authentic connection with others, as she, too, seeks genuine love.

The story also features multiple surrounding characters, though primarily one supporting character emerges: Verena, Michael’s assistant. Her primary duty is to assist Michael in recruiting women for trafficking. To do so, she infiltrates strip clubs, posing either as a customer or, when necessary, as a dancer. Verena gradually gains the trust of the other dancers, ultimately creating situations that leave them vulnerable to capture and trafficking.

The plot reaches its climax when one of Michael’s clients becomes obsessed with Star and refuses to let her go, determined to have her at any cost.