Following the Jordie Chandler scandal, Michael Jackson's career wanes, his drug use worsens, he surrounds himself with sycophants and his finances are in shambles. Jackson's charitable efforts and public appearances become crude punchlines. Attempting to reign in the narrative and gain sympathy, Jackson agrees to allow British journalist Martin Bashir to film his private life -- a terrible miscalculation which results in a new, criminal investigation into the singer.