Laith, whose family owns a Middle Eastern restaurant, returns to Chicago from New York City, where he lives as a struggling actor. Invited to a deep listening sonic meditation, he travels to the Indiana Dunes, hoping to escape the dull malaise of returning home. However, Laith abandons his plans at the Dunes when he meets Arturo, a Paraguayan photographer visiting Chicago, before attending a film workshop. Not wanting to say goodbye, they explore the area together, breaking into an empty house where their desire to play takes over. Empowered by each other's willingness to rebel against norms, they connect through the simulation of banal rituals of the everyday.

Told through their two perspectives, Joy responds to the actualities of their individual lives. The film is not scripted and is based on a real-life couple, capturing aspects of their relationship and re-enacting their lives as they navigate different proposals of play, sometimes political, sexual, and quotidian.