Welcome to the early 1900s in New Rochelle, New York! There are a lot of characters to meet right off the bat, so sit back and make yourself comfortable. First there's an upper middle class family that includes Father, Mother, Grandfather, Mother's Younger Brother and Little Boy. 

Then there's Evelyn Nesbit, a famous model who Mother's Younger Brother is obsessed with, in a crazy love me way. There's Mameh, Tateh and Little Girl, a Jewish family trying to make ends meet on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. "Mameh" and "Tateh" mean "Mommy" and "Daddy" in Yiddish: .

Oh, and don't forget famous folks like J.P. Morgan and Henry Ford and Harry Houdini, the celebrated escape artist. They're going to figure in this story too.

It all begins in the summer, as Harry Houdini's car crashes in front of the upper middle class family's house. Did I mention the little boy has a man crush on Houdini. Well Houdini sticks around awhile and drinks some lemonade, before getting a cryptic message from Little Boy to "warn the Duke."

In the meantime, Evelyn Nesbit is preparing for the trial of her husband. You see, he killed her former lover, the architect Stanford White. Bored, Evelyn tours the Lower East Side, where she meets Tateh and Little Girl. Mameh's already out of the picture, because she slept with her employer to help pay the rent. Tateh kicked her to the curb, which isn't terribly kind of him.

Evelyn becomes obsessed with Little Girl and Tateh, who introduces her to Emma Goldman, the famous political activist. While Emma Goldman's giving Evelyn a massage, Mother's Younger Brother spies on them, but can't hide his presence for long. Despite the fact that he's basically a stalker, Evelyn starts dating him, after he pops out of her closet naked.I wonder why Evelyn decided to go out with a crazy stalker? Was she vulnerable?

Whew, got all that? Because now it really starts to get interesting. While Father's away at the North Pole on an expedition, Mother discovers a newborn black baby in the backyard. Rather than press charges against the baby's mother, Sarah, Mother lets her move in. Soon Coalhouse Walker Jr. (the baby's father and a Harlem musician) comes calling but Sarah won't see him. At least at first.

After playing hard to get for a while she comes around, and she and Coalhouse plan to get married.