song for the ingénue singer Kelly Porter. The two women bond over the realization that the young songstress is in a closeted lesbian relationship with her roommate Marion. They write the coded song "My Secret Love" for Kelly, which becomes a hit. Denise’s relationship with Howard becomes strained due to his philandering with other women. When she learns she is pregnant with Howard's second baby, Cheryl convinces her to see an obstetrician, who safely performs an illegal abortion. Denise and Cheryl then become close friends and Denise eventually breaks up with Howard. In 1966, Milner offers to send Denise to the studio to sing for herself. As an added incentive, he offers the production assistance of Jay Phillips, the frontman of California rock group the Riptides, to produce her single. Although initially hesitant as she says she finds the whole "surf and turf" sound laughable, she writes and sings the song "God Give Me Strength" and is delighted by Jay's skillful orchestral arrangement. The record she puts out with him, however, is a commercial failure. Between the loss suffered by her foundering single and the advent of the British Invasion, Milner's fortunes are depleted. Denise blames herself for making the song too personal and bankrupting Joel. He tells her she did more for him than she realized and that it was time for them both to move on. Denise and Jay become a couple and resettle in California. Jay treats Denise’s daughter Luna as his own, but he is reclusive and a user of recreational drugs like marijuana and peyote. Denise has since joined forces with the newly-divorced Cheryl to write songs for a bubblegum pop TV show, Where the Action Is, though Jay insists to Denise that writing music for TV is beneath her. Jay's behavior becomes more erratic and he becomes increasingly paranoid, causing his bandmates to distance themselves from him. He falls into a period of deep depression that seemingly abates after a visit from his friend "Jonesy", who reminds him of the things that are important in his life, including his "groovy new old lady", Denise. Thinking that the worst is over, Denise invites Jay to join her and Cheryl at the Whisky a Go Go to see Doris, a former Luminary member who embarked on a solo career after the girl group broke up, perform. Jay declines, saying he has a song idea he wants