The story covers a night in 1928 that set Harlem buzzing. The principal players were all well-known... and all queer. Bessie Smith, possessing one of the greatest voices in blues, is performing at Harlem's Lafayette Theater and just wants to rest between shows.  

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Porter Grainger, Bessie's musical director and aspirant to New York's interracial gay circles, cajoles the diva into attending a midtown Manhattan party hosted by...Carl Van Vechten, a white writer and self-styled publicist for the Harlem Renaissance. Bessie will be his trophy entertainer for the night. We follow Porter and Bessie from the theater dressing room to Van Vechten's posh midtown apartment, where Bessie's slow burn explodes.