Violet Sanford (Piper Perabo) leaves her hometown of South Amboy, New Jersey. She leaves to New York City to pursue her dreams of becoming a songwriter. Violet is not successful in finding someone to hire her at any recording studios. She mistakenly believes that Kevin O'Donnell (Adam Garcia) is a bar owner. She gives him a tape of Violet's demo recordings. She later finds out after his boss reveals his true identity. When Violet returns home, she finds out that her house was robbed. With only a few dollars on her, she goes to an all-night diner. There she sees three girls Cammie (Izabella Miko), Rachel (Bridget Moynahan), and Zoe (Tyra Banks). The girls are showing off hundreds of dollars in tips they earned. She then finds out that they work at a bar called Coyote Ugly.