It is a cheerful day in St. Augustine, Louisiana, perfect for Josie and Liam's wedding.
Mrs. Quinn has bought a lovely bouquet for Josie. Josie is thankful to all the people
who helped her make her wedding day special. The guests have started pouring in. Josie
can't wait to get married. Her friends come to meet her. The groomsmen
call one of her friends Kiera outside to talk. Kiera asks another friend Laura to touch up
Josie's lipstick while she talks to the groomsmen. Josie wonders if everything is fine, but then
she sees Kiera walk in with a solemn expression, and she knows something is not right.
And her fears turn true, Liam is not coming. It has been eight years since Josie was left
at the altar. Liam is now a successful country singer. He
is performing at a concert in New Orleans. The crowd goes gaga over him as he wraps up
his performance. Backstage, Liam's manager, Sam, fills him
in on the afterparty schedule, where the head of the label will be joining them. But Liam
is not interested in going, and he asks the manager to arrange dinner for him and send
the girl he spotted in the crowd to his room. The next morning Liam wakes up to the girl
singing his song. She is too excited to see him up and starts jumping with joy. As she
does, she steps on his old shabby cell phone and breaks it. Liam freaks out and runs out
with the broken cell phone. He asks at the reception for the nearest mobile
repair shop. As he runs, a crowd runs after him, everyone wanting a picture with the celebrity.
He somehow makes it to the shop, and the store manager assists him with the repair. Once
he's done, he leaves Liam in his office to check if the phone is working. Liam opens
the recording from Josie and listens to it, thanking god that he is still able to hear
it. He gets back, and Sam lashes out at him because
the little stunt he pulled running around the town barefoot is making the headlines.
He is worried this might affect his collegiality with the record labels. He hasn't finished
writing the songs he owes them. He's still sulking from the morning events
when the news on the television catches his attention. His best friend from childhood
and one of his groomsmen passed away in a car accident.
Liam is shocked by the news. He drinks till he is out of his senses, and when he returns,
Sam shouts at him again, reminding him of the concert he is supposed to perform in.
Liam is a mess when he gets in his car. He bribes the driver to get him out of there
while Sam has gone to get him a clean shirt. Liam decides to go to St. Augustine to attend
the funeral. He sends off the car and goes to sit on the steps of the church. Josie,
holding a little girl's hand, comes rushing and almost stumbles upon him. She recognizes
him and is reminded of the betrayal. She has nothing to do with him, so she ignores him
and goes inside. Liam is stunned too, and is at a loss for
words. After the funeral, Josie asks her brother
Jake to take the little girl to the car. She makes her way to where Liam is standing. She
walks towards him, enraged, and punches him in his gut.
As he whimpers in pain, his dad, pastor Brian, comes to say hi to him and then leaves.
In the morning, Liam is woken up by the sun shining on his face. He turns, forgetting
it is not the king-size bed he is used to sleeping in and falls off the bed.
He comes downstairs and decides against having coffee after having one sip. He is not used
to doing things himself, but his dad reminds him that no one is going to do it for him
and asks him to wash up the coffee mug he just kept in the sink.
In eight years, he has got so used to the luxuries that he expects them in his hometown.
His dad scoffs at his son's naivety and tells him he can use his old bike if he wants to
go around the town. Liam calls Sam, whose rage is off the roof.
But he calms down when Liam narrates the whole situation. Sam cuts him some slack and says
he should be with his friends, and once he feels well enough, he can come back, and they'll
continue the tour. Liam asks if Sam can get him his credit cards
and a car. Sam is surprised because he has never seen Liam use his credit cards. Nevertheless,
he asks for the address so he can get them delivered to him.
Liam rides his bicycle to the supermarket to get some liquor. Lydia, the cashier, reminds
Liam they went to school together, but Liam doesn't recognize her. So when he asks about
Josie, Lydia refuses to help him. He rides around the town on his bike and spots
Josie in a flower shop that she owns now that Mrs. Quinn passed away.
He follows her into the store and tries to talk to her, but she dismisses him as she
is with another customer. The customer, before leaving, thanks Josie and calls Liam an idiot.
She asks him if he noticed no one in the town took a picture with him because that day,
when he left her at the altar, he didn't just leave her but also the people of the town.
Since that day, no one has ever spoken about him. But it doesn't matter because the people
of the town are a family who has each other's backs. And he doesn't belong there, so she
asks him to leave. Their conversation gets interrupted when Laura
comes in with the kids. The little girl calls Josie mama and hugs her. To give Josie and
Liam space to talk, Laura proposes to take the kids for the cupcakes. Josie mouths thank
you to Laura. The little girl recognizes Liam from yesterday and introduces herself as Billy.
She also knows he is the country star that her mama listens to sometimes. But Billy doesn't
find it appealing and says it to his face. Liam gets curious after learning Billy's name
and asks how old she is. Billy tells him she is seven years old and adds she is losing
her baby teeth much later than the other kids. Laura then takes the kids away.
Liam needs an explanation. Josie had played out this conversation a million times in her
head, but when the time actually came to say it to him, she couldn't do it without some
alcohol in her. She tells him that she didn't find out she
was pregnant until a couple of weeks after the wedding got canceled.
She mustered up all her strength and called him to tell him she was pregnant, but it went
to his voicemail. So she left some very long messages begging him to call her back. She
had thought if Liam didn't have the decency to call her back to find out what was so important
that she was pleading with him, she would never contact him again. Because Billy and
she deserve better than this. Liam cannot believe Josie named their daughter
after his deceased mother. They both have tears in their eyes after the conversation.
Josie has tears because she has suppressed all her anger and emotion for so long. Liam
cried tears of guilt for what he had lost. Liam rides home in a frenzy, and as soon as
he reaches home, he confronts his dad, asking him why he didn't tell him he had a daughter.
His dad says he tried calling him several times, but he never returned his calls, so
his dad had to track him down like a fan to find out where his son was performing.
After the concert, his dad came backstage to meet him and had to plead with a security
guard to see his own son. He was shocked to see Liam completely out of his mind. But still,
he tried to tell him that he had a baby on its way. But Liam, in his stupor, had asked
his dad to leave and never show himself again but in a much more colorful language.
His father fails to understand. His son was a great kid, always good to others, and deeply
in love with Josie. He asks Liam what happened to him.
Liam doesn't have an answer. His father says after the man he saw that day after the concert,
he knew Billy and Josie were better off without him.
Liam is left in deep regret. The following day Liam tries to go inside
the church, but he still can't make himself walk in the entrance, so he sits down on the
steps. From outside, he listens to his dad delivering
the sermon about forgiveness. He encourages everybody to practice forgiveness for those
who have hurt them. After the prayer, Brian sees Liam on the steps
and stops him. People start coming out of the church, and everybody greets Liam and
welcomes him back. He meets Mason's widow, Kiera, and gives her his condolences. He meets
everybody, but his eyes stay fixated on Josie. But Jake takes Josie and Billy out from the
other door to avoid meeting Liam. Liam is adjusting to his life in the town.
He gets up one morning and finds a letter for him from Sam, who encourages him to heal
and write new songs. He signs off, saying he'll meet Liam on their next tour.
Liam goes to his backyard and sees a car standing there. He is happy that he will not have to
ride his bike anymore. He takes the car for a spin and goes to meet
Josie. He asks to meet with Billy and proposes he's ready for any terms Josie wants to impose.
He is her father, after all. Josie says she needs some time to think about it.
Josie and Billy are having breakfast when Josie says she wants to talk about her dad.
Even though she said she never wanted to talk about him, she feels it isn't fair on Billy.
She has the right to know about her father. But to her surprise, Billy figured out that
Liam was her father. She is very intelligent for a seven year old.
Josie makes sure Billy knows that Liam did not abandon Billy because he didn't even know
Josie was pregnant with her. Billy again shows Josie that she is a much
better decision maker than most of them by proposing they invite Liam for dinner. This
might help him process the news. Liam is dealing with his staff as best as
he can. Be it hanging up on his paparazzi manager, Doris, who, after hearing his friend
passed away, thinks making it an issue to gain sympathy will help Liam's popularity,
or sharing the revelations and asking for advice from Sam.
Liam is having dinner with Billy and Josie. Jake has also come. Billy makes it very clear
that she is not going to go easy on Liam. Jake tries to suppress his laughter at every
jibe Billy takes at Liam. Billy asks her mama to open the present that
Liam has bought for her. She opens it, and it is a diamond necklace.
After dinner, she invites Liam to see her pet rabbit. She shows him the furry white
animal. Liam asks if she can take it out of the cage. Billy says she won't do anything
of this sort as the rabbit might bite her or claw her eyes out. Liam proposes to do
it for her. He sits with Billy with the rabbit in his arms.
Billy tells him her mama played some of his newer songs, and she has changed her opinion
about him. He is not as bad as she thought. She asks him to pick her up from school the
next day so they can spend some time together. Josie accompanies him to her porch as he leaves.
He is upset because he feels he's bad with kids. Billy hated the bear he got for her,
and Josie hated the necklace. Josie assures him that he doesn't have to buy them things
and says that being there is enough for them. Saying this, she returns the necklace.
Liam tells her what Billy asked for, and Josie is scared about things moving too fast. She
says Liam has been absent for Billy's entire life, and now he wants to claim right over
her. Liam assures her that he is not doing that. He just wants a chance to do things
for their daughter now that he is here. After pleading with her for some time, Josie
agrees and asks him to meet her at the old benches. They can pick her up together.
It is a walk down memory lane for Liam as he meets Josie outside his old school. She
notices Liam still has the phone from his high school. Though Liam denies it is the
same phone. Josie gets a call from a crying Kiera. So Josie entrusts Liam to take Billy
home. She also hands him the child seat that she has bought for Billy. Liam has no idea
how to fix it, but lucky for him, the little girl is adept at fixing it in the car.
While waiting, he reads a talent hunt competition poster on one of the pillars. Billy refuses
to get into Liam's convertible as she's read the chances of surviving in an accident with
a convertible are staggeringly low. Liam decides to call his dad and asks Billy if she knows
her grandpa's number. While Brian makes lunch, Liam coaxes Billy
to have chocolate ice cream with him. Billy had never broken the rules, so desserts before
a meal sounded scandalous to her. But Liam says it is okay to let it go sometimes. Billy
ends up eating a mouthful of chocolate ice cream in one go, and both Liam and she have
a brain freeze which they laugh about. Billy and Liam are finally spending father-daughter
time and bonding. Billy then gets Liam's old guitar from the other room and asks him to
play. She gives him the idea of playing a song about 'now.' He starts working on the
melody, and Billy likes it. She asks who taught him to play, and he tells her his mom did
when he was a little older than Billy. Liam sings the first line, but Brian burns
his fingers on a hot vessel, and Liam rushes to his aid. Meanwhile, Billy takes the guitar
and starts playing it. Both Liam and Brian are surprised because Billy tells them she
has never played the guitar before. She just did what she saw Liam do with the strings.
Liam realizes she has his musical ability and promises to take her to guitar shopping
the next day after school so she can play too.
Billy hugs him when he drops her off at mama's and he tells Josie that Billy is a natural
at playing guitar. Josie is excited to hear that her daughter can play guitar. He asks
if he can take Billy guitar shopping and asks her to join. Josie reminds him nothing is
going to happen between them. But somewhere, she is hopeful, and so is Liam. But for the
time being, they are taking baby steps toward each other, and Billy is their connecting
point. With Billy in his life, Liam understands his
responsibilities and takes charge of fulfilling them. He bonds with his daughter as they sing
and play together. He has even got an espresso machine for his dad, which makes far better
coffee than his dad's old coffee machine. His dad has to admit as he takes the first
sip from the coffee made by the espresso machine. Brian looks out the window and sees Liam ploughing
his mother's rose garden. Brian decides to help him. The time he spends with his family
allows him to come out of writer's block, and he starts working on a new song.
They plant new roses, and the garden comes to life again, just like his mother used to
love. Billy is having a sleepover at Liam's place.
Josie sits on the swing outside Liam's house. It is bedtime, and Liam tucks Billy in like
a burrito. Billy asks him why he left her mama.
A bit hesitant at first, Liam replies that he was young and dumb. He narrates an incident,
in which he and Josie were singing in a Karaoke bar and enjoying themselves. A record executive
heard him singing and asked Liam to record a song. The song became a hit in no time and
was all over the radio. Everything went at lightning speed after that.
Liam went off on tour. Billy questions why he didn't take her mama with him. Liam now
wishes he should have, but back then, he was young, and he didn't know how to handle being
famous. He got lost and couldn't find his way back.
Billy assures him that he has found his way back now. She asks one more thing that makes
Liam very happy. She asks if she can call him dad, and Liam wants nothing more than
for his daughter to call him dad. He kisses her goodnight.
Brian hears their conversation. After Billy falls asleep, Liam goes out to
sit with Josie and tells her that Billy asked him if she could call him dad. Josie reminds
him it is a lifetime responsibility. Liam says he is ready for it.
Liam and Josie share a moment where they think it wouldn't be so bad to get together, but
they're still taking one step at a time. Josie is a bit tipsy after sipping on the wine.
She asks if Liam would care to drive her home, and he agrees.
Once they reach home, Josie asks to go on a date with Liam. She thinks it would be a
good idea to get dressed up and go out for a fancy dinner. Liam says he would love to
do that. Josie jokingly reminds him to call his fans. Liam remarks his publicist is going
to be so thrilled. Liam has come to pick Billy up from school.
He signs Billy for the talent hunt. Billy is ecstatic when she finds out, so much so
that she is ready to take the convertible that day. Liam asks if she is okay with that
because she was all about the stats last time. Billy says it is okay to let go sometimes
and walk on the wild side, trusting everything is going to be okay.
Liam chuckles, seeing his daughter is more mature than he thought. He swooshes the car,
and Billy screams with excitement as they sing along to the country music playing on
the stereo. Josie gets ready for her date. She gets nervous
jitters when the bell rings, as she is reminded of the old times when they were dating and
so in love. She smiles, looking at an old picture of them together and wondering what
will come after the date. The limo takes Josie to a place where Liam
is waiting for her with a helicopter. They fly to New Orleans. The city looks like diamond
studded at night from above. A crowd of fans and reporters is waiting for
them. When asked about Josie, he calls her 'The one.'
He takes her to a fancy restaurant, and they dance to the live music playing. They soon
kiss and are lost in the moment that they don't realize the music has stopped and they
are the only ones left on the dance floor. After spending a lovely evening together,
Liam drops Josie home. Before leaving, he thanks Josie for showing him how his life
could be with her in his life. He then kisses her goodnight.
At a dinner party, Liam and Billy rush to get food. They are pretending to be hungry
beasts. Jake arrives and notices Billy choking. He shouts at Liam to do something, but Liam
freezes as a flashback of his mother at the hospital comes back to him. At that moment
he had frozen, seeing his mom crash and the doctor giving her CPR.
Everybody rushes out, and Josie cries, asking Jake to do something as Billy is not breathing.
Jake gives Billy a Heimlich maneuver and saves her.
Billy finally breathes, and so does Josie. Jake is not happy with how Liam just stood
there instead of saving his daughter, unbeknownst to him, the trauma Liam went through in his
childhood. Later that evening, Liam drank after a long
time. He is at a bar where Walt is singing. Liam compliments his singing after his performance.
Walt reminisces about how he sang with Liam's mother. They used to get a crowd in the bar,
but Billy used to love playing with Liam the most.
Walt asks him if he needs a ride back home, but Liam says he's okay. Walt leaves, and
Jake walks in. Liam looks the other way, still feeling bad about what happened at the dinner.
Jake is rather harsh on him and asks him if he really is ready to become a dad. He insinuates
that his niece could have lost her life if she had been alone with Liam.
Jake doesn't like Liam for what he put Josie through all those years. And now that Josie
has built a life, not just for herself but Billy too, he is afraid Liam would do something
to destroy it, and then there is no turning back.
Liam doesn't say anything, but his hand had to bear the brunt when he smashed it at the
glass top of the bar. Liam takes Jake's words pretty hard.
Brian gives Liam first aid. Liam says he will never play or sing again because he doesn't
deserve it. Brian tries to convince him otherwise. Liam cries as he thinks he is a bad person.
The town folks shouldn't have forgiven him. He apologizes to his dad for not getting in
touch with him all these years. He still doesn't know why he did that even though it brought
him so much pain, but he still kept his distance. Brian confesses when Liam's mom died, he was
so struck by his own grief that he overlooked Liam's somehow. He regrets not being able
to talk to his son when he was in need of his father. So Liam resorted to pushing everyone
away, and the fame, which bought him more isolation, was a way for him to cope with
his mother's loss. Brian apologizes for not being there. He puts
his son to sleep and kisses him goodnight. Liam makes the hard decision to go back and
leaves a note to his dad to say bye to Billy and Josie, as they are better off without
him. Josie cries when she gets to know Liam is
gone, and finally when things seemed right between them. Jake feels guilty for gaslighting
Liam as he tries to comfort his crying niece. Liam goes back on his London tour. Liam's
sadness doesn't go unnoticed by Sam. His new songs are the best he has ever performed because
they are soulful and about the new relations he has found in the couple of days he spent
at home. After the performance, Liam rushes to get
out of there. On the plane, he cannot stand to look at Josie's picture. Sam asks him why
he's doing this to himself. Liam tells him what had happened and how he doesn't feel
adept at being a father. Sam motivates him by saying that we all mess
up sometimes, but what we do after that is important. We need to show up and be there.
Sam tells him that all the time he managed Liam, he has been nothing but an imbecile.
And there are far better men out there than him, but Josie loves him and not these other
men. And Liam loves her too. This is enough to get Liam off the plane,
much against his publicist's wishes, and head back to Louisiana to his family. Josie's message
from eight years ago plays in the background as he makes his way through the airport. After
saying that she would never contact him in her life if she didn't hear from him, regardless,
she would always love him. He will always be the one for her and will have her heart
forever. Liam listens to the message one more time
and then calls Josie back, which goes to her voicemail. He tells her it took him eight
years to give her an answer as to why he left her. Before Josie came into his life, his
mom was the love of his life. They were young, and the fear of losing her one day, just like
he lost his mom, was too much for him to take. So he ran.
But he could never move on. He listened to the message she left him and has been listening
to it every single day for the past eight years. And then, when he met Billy, his heart
burst open, and he thought he wasn't good enough for them. But now he wants to spend
the rest of his life trying to be good enough for them. He is never leaving St. Augustine
without her and Billy. Liam makes his way through the airport, turning
heads from wherever he passes. It is raining in St Augustine when he arrives. He bangs
on Josie's door, and when no one opens, he shouts her name, standing in the rain.
Nobody seems to be home. Liam leaves his cell phone on her porch and leaves.
The next morning he is woken by a tap on his window. It is Josie. She signals him to come
out. She got his message and understood why he has been carrying the old, ugly, beat up
phone. She makes him promise he will never leave Saint without her and Billy. Liam promises.
With tears in her eyes, Josie welcomes him home and kisses him.
It is Billy's talent hunt competition. Along with Brian and Josie, Jake, Doris, and Sam
have come too. Doris and Jake develop an instant connection.
Soon Billy comes on the stage with her dad Liam, and together they perform their original
song, "Finally Home." Liam finally gets married to Josie. Billy
is the happiest at their union. At Berlin, Liam performs with Billy, and the
crowd is euphoric to see the father-daughter duo perform a heartfelt song. Josie looks
at them from backstage, and she couldn't be prouder.