Set in the early 1950s in Montreal, this is the story of enigmatic Peggy Sanderson—a woman who has become a socially awkward presence due to her open and casual association with black musicians in Lower Town nightclubs. White and black men assume she must be involved sexually with the musicians, white women are perplexed by her, and black women both fear and loathe her. Yet Peggy's almost guileless sense of ease is at complete variance with these assumptions and attitudes. When Jim McAlpine, a writer and journalistically engaged intellectual, falls in love with her, lives are ruined and careers are broken. Taking place before the civil rights movement, this tragic story explores race relations with great moral complexity and compassion.