1915: Manhattan’s Book Row, an eclectic jumble of 40 bookshops along Fourth Avenue, is the mecca for rare book buyers from around the world, and the haunt of locals looking for a bargain. It is also the target of the most vicious censor in American history --- Anthony Comstock --- and home to three sisters who vow to stop him. For the three Applebaum sisters, the Arcadia Rare Bookshop is the only home they’ve ever known. Unbeknownst to her older sisters, Celia has joined a group of young people who secretly print and distribute articles on women’s health by hiding them within the pages of ordinary cookbooks, household hints and sewing patterns. Meanwhile, the Comstock Laws threaten anybody who owns or circulates “obscene, lewd, or lascivious” publications. Secrets and a mysterious stranger mean that the fate of the famed Book Row is anything but secure.

Devastated by tragedy during her last project, documentarian Abbie Sinclair seeks refuge with three octogenarian siblings, who live in a looming plantation house at the edge of the world. South Carolina’s Stargazey Point used to be a popular family beach resort, but the beaches have eroded, most of the businesses have closed, and the crowds have gone. It's the perfect place to hide from the rest of world. But hiding turns out to be harder than Abbie thought it would be.