The game begins with an actor awakening and walking through a damaged, dilapidated area resembling the hallways of a cruise ship, encountering a deformed female figure who mocks them, stating that they "almost had it".

The game begins on a cruise ship after an actor boards it in a special suite, as their agent convinced them to meet with a mysterious, eccentric director.

They are contacted by the director by a speaker, and is tasked with "building the character"; the actor must traverse an area of the ship sectioned off from the guests and crew.

Throughout the many corridors and rooms of the ship, they encounter many strange occurrences and seemingly supernatural happenings as the director speaks to them, with them having various flashbacks, with the various visions and hallucinations changing to match.

The actor obtains different film reels that lead across four main acts, with each having puzzles, obstacles and important decisions that the player must make.

Lily tries to lift his spirits by often playing pretend, inspired by a pirate film they secretly watch in their father's movie theater.

In the fifth and final act, James traverses the center of his mind within the degraded, submerged recreation of the ship, with him emerging as "Lily" or himself, with the director parting ways with him (for a time, if the third ending takes place).

There is hinted to be a supernatural element to this, as Lily's voice tells him that he called out for her soul, but "something else answered", possibly referring to the Rat Queen, who might be a being aiding in finalizing his choice of who he is; this is also why some people don't completely recognize him, and no camera or writings can ascertain his appearance or his name.