In 1936, Daisy Clover is a tough-talking, chain-smoking, sherry-drinking 15-year-old tomboy, who lives in a trailer on the Angel Beach, California, boardwalk with her eccentric mother, and who dreams of making it big as a singing star. Daisy's wish comes true when after sending in a recording of herself, she is discovered by movie studio owner and movie producer Raymond Swan. Raymond's plans are to market Daisy as the wholesome "Valentine," complete with a back story to match that persona, that story which may not be completely true. Daisy's mother does not fit into that story. With the help of Daisy's social-climbing older sister, Gloria Goslett, Raymond arranges for Mrs. Clover to be committed, for Daisy not to see her; as to the movie-going public, her mother died the previous year. The more that Raymond controls Daisy's life, the more Daisy feels the need to confide in a kindred soul within the movie studio, namely a young actor with the stage name Wade Lewis, whose life is also being controlled by the studio (he being marketed as a heartthrob). When life as the movie studio-controlled star becomes too much for Daisy to handle, she has to figure out a way to regain control of her life.
—Huggo