Just The Plot was inspried by a New York Times article that recommended spoilers, calling them “virtual Xanax.”
Below, you’ll read the plot (as I interpreted it) of Daisy Jones & The Six. This post is ALL SPOILERS. Just the Plot will never relay the full experience of reading the book. I encourage you to experience the characters and story for yourself.
Daisy Jones & The Six is told in an interview style format. Despite multiple people telling the story in this interview, the story unfolds in a cohesive, narrative fashion. It’s interesting to hear the same story from all the different perspectives.
Trigger/Content Warning: drug addiction, abortion
Gay characters: 1 minor character
Content: a little bit of language, surprisingly not a lot of sex action. PG-13
Focus: unrequited love, tension
The Six is a blues-rock band on the rise led by Billy Dunne. Also in the group is: Graham, his brother; Karen a tomboy-ish keyboardist; Eddie, easy to anger when it comes to Billy hogging the spotlight; Warren, a drummer; and adude named Pete.
When they get a record contract with Runner Records, Billy asks his girlfriend Camila to marry him. She says yes.
Separately, Daisy also gets signed to Runner Records. Daisy walks out of a few demo sessions because no one is understanding HER vision.
The Six put out an album that receives a little buzz. Billy and Teddy (a producer guy with Runner Records) do a lot of the creative work behind the album.
The Six are set up on a 30 city tour. Billy is doing drugs around this time. Camila, five months pregnant, walks in on his tour bus and sees Billy with another female. She gives him a letter telling him he has until the baby is born to get the partying out of his system.
Billy ends up going into rehab which results in The Six cutting their tour short. Billy also misses the birth of his daughter.
Daisy struggles on her path to stardom because no one is letting her write the songs she wants to perform.
Billy is out of rehab and sober, working on The Six’s second album. A record exec says they don’t have a a “hit” on the record. In comes Daisy to record “Honeycomb” with the band (she’s signed under the same label). She slightly changes the intention of the song
Billy: I did not like that Daisy turned those lines into questions and I didn’t like that she had felt the right to do it.
The Six are on another tour. Daisy Jones crashes one of their concerts. Billy invites her on stage to sing Honeycomb
Billy: What was I going to do? Not invite her to sing the song with me while she was standing right there? She forced my hand.
Daisy: And it didn’t matter how much of an asshole I thought Billy was. When you can sing like that with someone, there’s a small part of you that feels connected to them. That sort of thing that gets under your skin and doesn’t easily come out. Billy was like a splinter. That’s exactly what he was like.”
Runner Records announces that Daisy Jones would be the opening act on The Six’s world tour.
Daisy breaks it off with her slimy boyfriend/manager. Everyone knew the guy was a sleaze and Billy supports Daisy in this endeavor.
Graham (Billy’s brother) and Karen (the keyboardist) start a secret romance. (No one really ever finds out they’re together.)
During a concert, Billy and Daisy perform Honeycomb on stage, just the two of them. Eddie is pissed.
Rolling Stone comes in for an interview. At a bar, Daisy Jones dances on a piano in a fur coat with no shoes and sings “Mustang Sally” with Billy playing the chords.
Billy muses about Daisy. She’s fun, she’s a rock star …. but she’s also an addict. Billy is sober. So he stays away from Daisy. The Rolling Stones article comes out with the title: “The Six That Should Be Seven.”
Billy: Are you fucking kidding me?
Daisy joins the band. A sober Billy is there for his second daughter’s birth.
The band, with Daisy Jones, starts working on their 3rd album. Billy and Daisy butt heads trying to write the lyrics but finally come together. Billy stays sober and Camila waits up for him to get home from the studio.
Daisy misses a recording session, and Billy and Rod find her having a party. Billy leaves because of the drug usage at the party is too overwhelming for his sobriety.
Billy writes a song for Daisy to sing. She is doubtful of her abilities and has a rough time singing this song. Eventually, she gets the kinks out and the song sounds amazing. She jumps into Billy’s arms and thanks him for bringing a power and different vocal range/style out of her.
Camila comes in with her girls. Her daughter Julia wants Daisy to be her best friend.
Runner Records is very excited about the third album. The rest of the band starts to acknowledge that Daisy Jones & The Six is really Billy and Daisy.
Graham writes a song (about Karen) and Billy doesn’t even consider it for the current album.
Billy and Daisy have a romantic moment. Billy says, “I can’t.” Billy goes to Disneyland with his family. Daisy writes “Regret Me.”
Daisy: Art doesn’t owe anything to anyone. Songs are about how it felt, not the facts. Self-expression is about what it feels to live, not whether you had the right to claim any emotion at the time. Did I have a right to be mad at him? Did he do anything wrong? Who cares! Who cares? I hurt. So I wrote about it.
Billy calls Graham at 3 a.m. telling him that Daisy has to go. Graham says no because they are almost done with the album. Billy hangs up the phone and doesn’t mention it again.
Graham: Women will crush you, you know? I suppose everybody hurts everybody, but women always seem to get back up, you ever notice that? Women are always still standing.
Billy doesn’t like “Regret Me,” but the rest of the band does.
The band is set up with a photographer to get their album cover. Billy is wearing his typical denim-on-denim. The rest of the band is wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Then Daisy shows up in “cut-offs and a white tank top with no bra on. And she’s got her big hoop earrings, the bangles up her arms. Her shirt was thin, and white, and you could see her nipples as clear as day.”
Billy and Daisy, sans the rest of the band, end up on the front cover. The back of their album is the whole band with Billy and Daisy looking at each other on the back.
Billy: It’s a great cover.
Daisy: It’s iconic.
Teddy and Billy further “tweak” the album while the rest of the band takes time off.
Daisy meets an Italian named Nicky in Thailand. They travel to Italy together. Daisy cuts her hair in a short bob and, as one does, marries Nicky.
The band, sans Daisy, gets back to the studio and are upset about Teddy and Billy’s changes to the album.
Nicky was deeper into dope than Daisy and was very jealous. Daisy has to get dragged away from Italy by her long-time friend Simone to get back into the studio. Daisy shows up thinner, with a new haircut, and a diamond ring on.
Nicky and Billy almost come to blows. Nicky demands that Billy not talk or touch or look at Daisy. Billy asks Daisy if that’s what she wants. Daisy says that IS what she wants. And Billy backs down.
Rolling Stone (Jonah) comes back for an interview. Jonah senses something is off with the band but still really digs the music. The conversations with the rest of the band is put on the back burner while he finally gets some one-on-one time with Daisy. She dishes to Jonah, telling him that Billy spent the band’s first tour cheating on his wife and taking copious amounts of drugs, including heroin. Daisy also tells Jonah that Billy missed the birth of his first child due to rehab.
Jonah tells Billy what Daisy told him. Billy begs Jonah not to print that information. Jonah asks for something else that he could print.
Billy: How about this? I can’t fucking stand Daisy Jones.
The Rolling Stone article comes out with the title Daisy Jones & The Six: Are Billy Dunne and Daisy Jones Rock ‘n’ Roll’s Biggest Foes?
Daisy Jones & The Six go on tour again. There’s a blue bus and a white bus. The blue bus is Billy’s denim bus – typically housing Billy, Graham and Karen, and a bit of the crew … aka the sober bus. The white bus is the party bus – Daisy, Pete, Nicky, and Eddie. The band has expensive riders and fans asking if Billy and Daisy are a “thing.”
Daisy notices her drug problem is negatively affecting her life. After shows, her and Nicky stay out later than anyone else. They leave hotels damaged, even moreso than normal rock ‘n’ roll bands. Daisy passes out in the bathroom.
In the background, Pete wants to marry his girlfriend. Eddie is still getting miffed about Billy hogging all the spotlight. Karen finds out she’s pregnant with Graham’s baby (she later gets an abortion, Graham is crushed when he finds out. This ultimately ends their secret, romantic relationship).
Daisy wakes up soaking wet, sleeping in a hotel shower. Nicky thought she overdosed and had put her there. This is the straw that breaks the camel’s back and Daisy decides to leave Nicky. She walks out without fanfare and leaves a message with the concierge that she wants a divorce.
Daisy: He wasn’t going to kill me but he would let me die.
The band wins a Grammy for Record of the Year. Daisy accepts the award on behalf of the band – drunk, but confident.
Daisy: Thank you to everybody who listened to this song and understood this song and sang it along with us. We made it for you. For all of you out there hung up on somebody or something.
Camila: For everyone hung up on somebody or something.
They walk off stage and Billy is proud of Daisy for moving her life in the right direction.
Now that Nicky is gone, Billy and Daisy are talking to each other again. The band performs on SNL.
Billy: And then . . . I don’t know . . . Suddenly Daisy was there next to me and I forgot about everything but just looking at her and singing this song that we wrote together.
They make a last minute decision to have Daisy and Billy going out there alone on SNL to play “A Hope Like You.” There’s a lot of electricity between them.
Billy: You try playing a song like that with a woman like Daisy knowing your wife will see it. You try doing that. And then tell me you’re not about to lose your goddamn mind.
Later, Daisy goes to Billy’s hotel room. She wants to get clean. They throw the mini-bottles of vodka and tequila out the hotel room window.
Daisy: Are you worried we’ll never be able to write another album as good as this?
Billy: I worry about it every fucking day.
Billy calls his people to get Daisy into a rehab, but a message at the concierge informs him that Teddy had died. Billy is devastated, and Daisy falls off the wagon again.
The band goes on tour again. Camila comes along this time. Daisy and Billy can’t seem to find that “magic.” Billy fears he can’t write another good album without Teddy.
Pete really wants to leave the band so he can start a life with his girlfriend. Karen gets the abortion with Camila by her side without Graham knowing.
Billy and Daisy perform Honeycomb again.
Daisy: What do you say to a roaring crowd? Do you say no? Of course not?
The world dissolves around them. Daisy glances at Camila off stage and realizes that Billy is not hers. After the performance, Karen and Graham get into a huge fight. Graham seeks Billy for help, but Billy pushes his brother aside and walks down to the bar.
This is when we realize Julia – Billy and Camila’s child – is interviewing everyone.
They cut back to the story. Daisy is in the hallway crying because she can’t get into her hotel room. Camila walks by with Julia and helps her into her room. Camila is very frank with Daisy and acknowledges that Billy loves her. Camila is kind to Daisy but makes one request: Daisy needs to leave the band. Julia falls asleep in Daisy’s bed, and early in the morning, Camila picks up Julia out of Daisy’s room and leaves.
Meanwhile, Billy breaks his sobriety by ordering a shot of tequila, taking a few sips. A patron at the bar shoots the shit with Billy. He asks to see Billy’s kids. When Billy takes out some photos from his wallet, the man subtly pulls Billy’s drink out of his reach. Billy pays the tab and walks away from the alcohol while he can. Billy goes to his hotel room and sobs.
Daisy is on the next flight out and has left a note telling the band she would never come back. Rod cancels the rest of the tour (“I can’t fulfill a tour without Billy or Daisy”). Pete was already on his way out. Billy wanted to shut the whole thing down. Eddie still doesn’t like Billy. Graham and Karen would not speak to each other. Graham would not even “talk sense” into Billy because Billy shoved him aside when he sought Billy out for support.
Warren: I appeared to be the only person who didn’t have his panties in a twist about something. But we’d had a good ride. And if it was over . . . I guess, there wasn’t much I could do about that, was there? So, so be it.
Billy: I didn’t know how to write a good album without Teddy. And I didn’t know how to write a hit album without Daisy. And I couldn’t do it with either of them. And I wasn’t willing to let any of it cost me a fraction of what it had already cost me.
I turned to everybody on the bus and I said, “It’s over. The whole thing. It’s over.“
Daisy: I left the band because Camila Dunne asked me to. And it was the very best thing I’ve ever done. It is how I saved myself.
Karen: When Daisy left, it was like the Ferris wheel stopped turning and we all got off.
We learn that Camila died in her 60’s and she died with her family surrounding her and Billy Dunne at her side.
Daisy went to rehab and got sober. After she got clean, she started meditating, adopted some kids, started the Wild Flower Initiative, and traveled.
Warren married, had some kids
Pete owns an artificial turf installation company and is married to his girlfriend he had during his touring days.
Graham and Karen did not talk after the band split. Graham is married and claims to have a hot sauce called Dunne Burnt My Tongue Off.
Eddie (the complainer!) is a record producer now.
Simone (Daisy’s long-time BFF who helped her out multiple times throughout the book) is divorced but had a daughter Trina who is making bank as a performer.
Karen played gigs with other touring bands. I’m under the impression she never got married.
Billy continued to write songs for Runner Records. He praises Camila. He misses Camila. He’s lonely sometimes.
The book ends with a letter from Camila to her girls. She asks her girls to give Billy some time after she dies. Then Billy should contact Daisy Jones, the two of them owe her a song.
The book ends with the lyrics to a few of the songs.
nikiverse 