that hardy girl.

Lily Jenkins, born in San Francisco in 1909, trained as a ballet dancer from age four. When she was eighteen, she was sent by her wealthy parents to receive further schooling in Paris, France, where she would stay for the next decade until the rising hostilities with Germany made her return to America in 1937 along with her girlfriend, the song writers, Hélène B. and Hélène's husband, C. Once settled in New York City, she gets by on a monthly allowance from her parents and what little she can earn on her own by teaching girls ballet around town. Hélène helps her out as well. Through her girlfriend and her musician husband, she is introduced to a small ensemble of queer elite women in New York and they form what becomes known as The Madame Hardy's Club, named after Hélène whose nickname is Hardy after the breed of roses. Here Lily meets the actress, Paula (and her husband, B.), the painter, Ann (and her husband, H.) as well as the writer, Miriam (and her husband, P.). These five women become a staple in the upperclass environment in the city and take each other as lovers left and right. Finally, a year into her return to America, Lily is approached by the future artistic director of the American Ballet Theatre who wants her to be one of the front runners of the new company that is finally founded in 1939. Her fortune seems to be made - while back in Europe, things are looking more and more grim...