1940: Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, and her affluent parents send her to Manhattan to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to fun-chasing showgirls, a sexy male actor, a grand-dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and no-nonsense stage manager. But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in professional scandal, it ultimately leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves -- and a love that stands out from all the rest. 2010: Now eighty-nine years old, Vivian recalls how the events of those years altered the course of her life -- and the gusto and autonomy with which she approached it.