In 1878, young Mame Sutton escapes her oppressive father through a quick marriage to the charming stage manager of a New York theater, while her younger sister, Lizzie, makes the same escape by eloping with a young Jewish jeweler. Which sister has made the better choice? Life for Mame in a theatrical boarding house in 1878 offers new kinds of friendships and unexpected challenges. But her husband’s view of a wife’s role is as narrow as her father’s idea of a daughter’s role was. How can Mame break free? For Lizzie, marriage into the Cohen family offers warmth and support, but also cultural differences and expectations that she finds hard to master. She longs for a life apart from the Cohen world. When disasters shake their worlds, can the sisters help each other onto new paths?