The New Jersey band “Eddie and the Cruisers” was hugely successful in 1963. They had a hit song, On The Dark Side, and were recording a second album, Season In Hell, seemingly inspired by the work of late French poet Arthur Rimbaud. Then saxophone player Wendell Newton died of a heart attack. On 15 March 1964, the night the band finished the new album, tragedy struck again when Eddie Wilson, the lead singer, apparently died when his 1957 Chevrolet automobile went over a bridge. Eddie’s body was never found, however, and on 16 March 1964, the tapes of Season In Hell disappeared from the recording studio. In 1983, Maggie Foley, a television reporter for Media Magazine, wants to do a piece on the band and suggests that Eddie faked his death, inspired by Rimbaud who stopped writing at nineteen and disappeared until he died approximately twenty years later. High school English teacher Frank Ridgeway, who became the band’s keyboard player and lyricist, reminisces to himself about the summer of 1962 when he worked at Tony Mart’s club on the Jersey Shore and “Eddie and the Cruisers” came in to rehearse. Joann Carlino, backup singer and Eddie’s girlfriend, immediately caught Frank’s attention when she walked in the door. She was joined by Eddie, bass player Sal Amato, drummer Kenny Hopkins, saxophone player Wendell Newton, and band manager Doc Robbins. During practice, Eddie argued with Sal about playing too fast, and asked for Frank’s opinion. When Frank sided with Eddie and pulled out a book of poetry to make his point, Eddie invited him to stay. Back in the classroom, Maggie shows up and interrupts Frank’s reminiscence. Frank refuses to talk about Eddie or the last night in the recording studio. When Frank goes home, he finds someone broke in and searched his place. His phone rings and it is Doc, who is now a disc jockey in Asbury Park. When they meet, Doc is excited about the Media Magazine piece and thinks the renewed interest in the band could be their ticket to fame. Sal is already doing a tribute band, but if all of the surviving Cruisers got together and Doc managed the new version of the band, they could make a lot of money. Frank is intrigued to learn that Joann is back in New Jersey after working as a choreographer in Las Vegas, Nevada, but he has no interest in getting the band back together. Frank and Doc arrive at Doc’s place and find that it has also been trashed. Doc is certain someone is looking for the missing Season In Hell tapes. Later, Frank remembers the afternoon Joann discovered him playing the piano. When Eddie learned Frank could write music, he asked the “Wordman” to come up with more profound songs for the band. Frank decides to see Sal’s tribute band at the Holiday Inn, and runs into Maggie. They agree to meet after the show. The tribute show triggers Frank’s memories of the day he auditioned his song, On The Dark Side, for Eddie and the band. The others laughed but Eddie thought the song had potential. He worked with Frank on the music, got the rest of the band invested in the song, and Frank became the band’s keyboard player. After the tribute band’s show, Sal is happy to see Frank, but admits he’s bitter that everyone is still only interested in Eddie and the missing tapes. Frank tells Maggie about what happened to the band in the spring of 1963. The band got a $10,000 advance on their $50,000 contract for a new album and offers were pouring in. Frank saw that his alma mater, Benton College, was on a list of potential tour dates and, although Eddie felt the band wouldn’t fit in, Frank persuaded them to go. Frank and Joann bonded as they walked around campus. Eddie saw them kiss and subsequently ridiculed Frank at the show. Frank wanted to leave the band, but Eddie convinced him they needed each other – Frank’s words and Eddie’s music were intertwined. When Frank finishes telling her the story, Maggie admits that Eddie is probably dead but she is interested in the missing tapes. Frank tells her the record label hated Season In Hell and was not going to release the album. Maggie wants to play the Season In Hell tapes on her show but Frank doesn’t know where they are. She asks him if Eddie’s death was the reason he never wrote again. Frank acknowledges that the words and music were intertwined and, without Eddie, there was no more music. Frank tracks down Kenny, who is now a black jack dealer in Atlantic City, and learns that Wendell’s death was not a heart attack, but a drug overdose. They remember that Eddie could not make it through the first performance after Wendell’s death. After he left the stage, Joann stepped up to finish the ballad, Tender Years. Next, Frank reconnects with Joann. Her house has been searched too, and someone keeps calling her and playing the song, Tender Years. Frank and Joann realize someone is looking for the Season In Hell tapes, and they remember the band’s final night in the recording studio. The executives at Satin Records hated the new music. Doc and Sal didn’t like the new direction either and wanted to return to their old style. Eddie, however, wanted to do something great and said that if he couldn’t, there was no reason to ever play music again. When Eddie stormed out, Joann followed and he took her to a place called “Palace Depression” that he went to as a child. The deserted Palace Depression was created by an old man who took pieces of cars and garbage to create “a castle out of a bunch of junk” and Eddie felt he belonged in this “monument to nothing.” When Eddie dropped Joann off, she felt there was no future for them. And the next morning, she learned of his car accident. She tells Frank that a ’57 Chevy, like Eddie’s, recently drove past her house. She admits that she took the Season in Hell tapes in 1964 and hid them in Palace Depression. Frank and Joann do not realize someone is following them as they retrieve the tapes and return to Joann’s home. Her phone rings but no one is there. The phone rings again but hangs up after two rings; a signal Eddie used to let her know that he was on his way. Joann believes Eddie is coming and runs upstairs to change as the phone rings again. Frank overhears her telling Eddie to hurry over. Frank leaves, hides his car across the street and waits to see who is coming. A ’57 Chevy pulls up and Eddie’s voice calls to Joann. She grabs the tapes and rushes to the car as Frank steps from his hiding place and pulls the driver out. It’s not Eddie, it is Doc. Joann is furious at him for pretending to be Eddie. Doc is sorry, but he thought Joann had the tapes and knew she wouldn’t give them to him. She forgives him because Eddie once told her that Doc was a dreamer. She hands him the tapes and Doc excitedly promises to make a deal that will benefit them all. Frank and Joann go inside arm in arm. Maggie’s television report on “Eddie and the Cruisers” airs, highlighting Eddie Wilson as a musical visionary. Her report ends with the music from Season in Hell and, in the crowd watching outside a television store, Eddie Wilson smiles.