After winning a prestigious fashion-design contest in 1948, Aster Kelly flees the world of modeling in New York and arrives in Beverly Hills to claim her prize: a design apprenticeship with Fernando Tivoli. But Fernando has no such job available. Heās busily preparing for the opportunity of a lifetimeāproving to Galaxy Studios that he is the perfect couturier for their A-list stars. The moment he meets Aster, though, he knows sheās the missing ingredient he needs and asks her to be his stand-in model for Lauren Bacall, promising to mentor her if he wins the contract. Aster and Fernando quickly become entangled with Hollywood insidersāAster with the head of Galaxy Studios, Fernando with up-and-coming star Christopher Pageāand their friendship becomes essential as they navigate a glamorous and complicated existence where whatās real must often be hidden and no one is quite what they seem. As Asterās ambitions grow and she faces a crisis and Fernandoās future is threatened by the judgmental Hollywood machine, Aster makes a decision that changes the trajectory of their lives forever. Twenty-five years later, despite knowing little of her motherās time in Hollywood, Asterās daughter, Lissy, is poised to become a Broadway star. But when the musical gets off to a rocky start, Lissy makes a rash decision of her own in an attempt to save the show. And when long-buried secrets blindside them both, mother and daughter are forced to question everything they thought they knew.