When American aristocracy is ruined, the most disenfranchised emerge strongest—orphans, poor spinsters, women with difficult lives. In the hypocritical society of a Southern town, where women's freedom is suppressed, cruelty is disguised with Bible verses, and intrigues are hatched over the silver coffee pots of women's clubs, with public scrutiny constantly at work, they unite to embark on a witty and highly unorthodox enterprise that could end in disaster or success. This is a tragic and humorous story, full of satire and historical depiction, a sweeping and colorful portrait of Southern American society at a turning point in history.