Shirley Betts was born before the Second World War in London. During the Blitz, she survived on a diet of Hollywood films and dreamed of becoming a big Hollywood star. She became a chorus girl and the mistress of a famous man, a comedian whom she thought would help her to achieve stardom. She became a celebrity when she became Sugar Plum, a stooge for his act. It was a brief fame, and when she had a baby, she had to go to France to escape the shame of having a baby out of wedlock in the 1950s. The story continues with her life after a brief appearance on Broadway, an even briefer marriage, and her life in general after that.