It's taken time but I'm slowly crawling my way up the entertainment industry ladder. I could get a lot farther, faster, if I were willing to play the old slap and tickle. Yeah...that's never gonna happen. But my newest move is a step in the right direction and it's my voice that earned me this gig. I feel on top of the world-right up until I discover who owns the joint.

Of all the speakeasies, in all the world, my manager had to give Lena Bjornstad a contract with the Twilight Room. Back in our hometown, before I signed up to fight the war to end all wars, I loved her with everything I had. She claimed she loved me, too. Look how goddamn swell that turned out.

Amidst saxophone players and cigarette girls, Lena and Booker try clinging to their old anger as a shield against future pain-even as ancient chemistry still weaves its magic. And in a town, where the hems are rising and morals are lowering, banked embers from the past just might ignite a bright new tomorrow.