At his mother's funeral, police officerJim Arnaud gives an awkward speech about her, and how she would sing the Bruce Springsteen song "Thunder Road" to him. Jim attempts to dance to the song, but his CD player malfunctions and he stumbles away in tears. Aside from his mother’s death, Jim is going through a rough divorce with his unfaithful wife Rosalind, as they are in a toxic custody battle for their young daughter Crystal, though Jim is willing to pursue joint custody. Ignoring orders from his captain to take time off work, Jim assaults a man, causing a public disturbance. The captain angrily sends him home where he spends his time off repairing a dance academy his mother used to run in an attempt to make money for him and his siblings and to preserve his mother's legacy. A few days later, Jim goes back to work, helping to catch a thief. One night, he drives a girl home after he finds her in a parking lot with two teenage boys. Jim attempts to bond with Crystal, redecorating her room and learning a game she learned at school after struggling with it and becoming frustrated. Jim takes Crystal to school, but becomes upset when he discovers makeup applied to her face, telling her she does not need it to be one of the "pretty girls". After dropping her off, Jim notices Crystal hold hands with a boy, and sees the girl he drove home. Jim receives divorce papers while at work, with Rosalind seeking full custody of Crystal and planning to move away so that Jim will not be able to see her. Jim's friend at work, Nate, refers him to his former divorce lawyer, Donna. Jim confronts Crystal about the boy as he drops her off at Rosalind's house. Chris, Rosalind's new boyfriend, tries to talk to Jim about the case, but he drives away. Jim and Nate go to stop an armed confrontation at a restaurant, and Jim becomes distraught after the man commits suicide. Later, Jim goes to see Crystal's teacher, Dustin Zahn. Zahn tells Jim that Crystal is disruptive and frequently uses expletives towards her classmates. Jim becomes extremely upset, and Zahn is forced to calm him down. Jim meets with Donna before his trial and speaks before the judge. The judge accuses Jim of reckless behavior after a video of him dancing at the funeral is recovered and given to court. Despite Nate previously telling him he destroyed the person's phone, Jim loses the case. Angered, Jim drives to the police station and confronts Nate. Nate theorizes that the video was recovered from the cloud, but the two fight in the parking lot, leading the chief to fire Jim. Without any useful clothing, a depressed Jim walks home in his underwear. Nate finds Jim in his house after an outburst, with furniture broken and Jim smoking in Crystal's old bedroom. The two of them drink and play baseball in Jim's yard, with Jim passing out in the yard after Nate leaves. The next morning, Jim packs his things and goes to his sister's house. The two talk about their families, and their mother, with Jim's sister revealing that, while working on a production of Swan Lake, their mother had suffered a fatal knee injury that had led her to quit her dance academy years before, unable to admit that she was suffering immense pain from a surgery until she had ultimately destroyed her body. Jim leaves and speaks to his mother at her gravestone. On his way home, he is pulled over by a police officer and escorted to Rosalind's house, where he finds that she has died from a drug overdose and Chris has gone missing, Crystal being the one who had to call the police. Jim comforts his daughter in the ambulance and tears up as he recalls Thunder Road once more as he asks her if she wants to move away and live with him. Some time later, Jim and Crystal go to a performance of Swan Lake, and Crystal is awe-struck by the show; Jim cries tears of joy as he notices her receptiveness.
