Aidan Malone was born in Kilcormac Ireland in 1905 when the cry for an independent Ireland peppers public and private conversations. Work is scarce, and the violent uprisings against the British army force many sons to emigrate to America. Aidan is one of those young men, but he willingly embraces his fate: he has fallen in love with Katherine Bennett, a lovely colleen who he believes is his true love and who has herself left for New York City. In 1924 he follows her across the Atlantic Ocean to discover "Kit not Katherine happily living out their youthful dream without him." Kit is pursuing her dream to be an actress on Broadway, not a lover to a childhood friend.

Aidan must begin a lengthy and at times humorous journey through the America peopled with actors, playwrights, directors, and showgirls to be with his darling Kit. While he juggles part-time jobs and lingers around the margins of the theatre world, he tries to figure out his place in life. He embarks on a ten-year journey from Broadway to Hollywood during the 'roaring twenties' and 'dirty thirties.' He eventually pursues a career in acting as well, but is ambivalent about his choice: is he really an actor or an imposter? Is he truly an artist or a sad, rejected lover playing a role to impress Kit? He longs for connection to something: a woman, his place in the world, a sense of well-being, but only through leaving it all behind does he discover that his true vocation has been secretly calling to him all along.