The play begins in 1863, in San Francisco, during the Civil War. At that time Bret Harte was an ambitious editor at The Golden Era, the city's most widely red weekly newspaper. Harte employed San Clemens, a 28 year old reporter who later became world famous as Mark Twain.

Harte and Twain were both good friends with young Charles Warren Stoddard, the " boy poet " of San Francisco. Together they all knew Adah Isaccs Menken, who brought one of the most famous stage acts of the 19th century to San Francisco called Mazeppa. Ambrose Bierce was also on staff at the paper; he had his own weekly column which he signed "The Town Crier." The " Bitter Bierce " became perhaps the most cynical, vitriolic voice in the history of American letters. The editors of The Golden Era printed a flamboyant welcome to the unconventional poetess, Ada Clare. Clare, known as the " Queen of Bohemia " in New York, came to San Francisco with a desire to establish a Bohemian enclave out west. Her weekly columns for the paper were the talk of the town.

Occasionally this illustrious collection of characters all gather in the home of Ina Coolbrith, " the grey-eyed Sappho of Russian Hill. " She became the first librarian of the Oakland Free Library, and later the first poet laureate of California. She was also the neice of Joseph Smith, Jr., the Prophet who founded the Mormon Church - a secret she kept until she died at the age of 87.