THIRSTY follows the upstart campaign of an audacious attorney Audrey Allen (Jamie Neumann) as she strives to unseat the incumbent mayor of Oakland. Driven by her rough upbringing and altruistic desires, Audrey is willing to endure the relentless demands of campaign life. This is a woman who fights to win.
Audrey’s criticism of the popular incumbent mayor Maya King (Brandee Evans) motivates a veteran of the political game Anne Dixon (Kyra Sedgwick) to bolster her struggling campaign. Audrey’s skeptical husband Tae Kim (Sung Kang) views Anne’s behavior as machiavellian but fails to convince his wife to move more cautiously. Audrey is blinded by ambition and subsequently thrust into the limelight with her family in tow. Anne’s go-to political operative Valentina Ramos (Briana Venskus-Vazquez) isn’t Audrey’s fan but reluctantly becomes her campaign manager anyway. They clash over tactical issues and Audrey’s charismatic field manager Derek Williams (Tyler Lepley) often steps in as referee.
As Audrey’s campaign gains momentum, T.K. becomes increasingly alienated and the tensions in their marriage escalate. Audrey’s daughter Eunbi also feels the sting of her mother’s absence. At Anne’s behest, Audrey keeps her troubled sister Sonia (Thora Birch) at arm’s length but this strategy soon becomes untenable.
As election day approaches, Audrey is guilt-ridden for not being a more involved mother, sister and wife but nevertheless remains consumed by election fever. Soon she is confronted with impossible decisions that put both her career and her family on the line. Audrey must reconcile the seduction of the political game with her own moral compass or risk losing it all.
