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The story follows the life of struggling young Hollywood screenwriter Joseph C. Gillis (Holden) as he is ensnared by long-forgotten silent-film star Norma Desmond (Swanson) into being her kept man. The film begins with a scene of Joe's dead body floating in the swimming pool of Norma's palatial mansion on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood before flashing back to the beginning of the story's events. Joe narrates the film even though he is no longer alive.