- The dramatic love story of small-town Mississippi girl Alva Starr and railroad official Owen Legate, set during the Great Depression.
- Railroad official Owen Legate comes to Dodson, Mississippi to shut down much of the town's railway--the town's main income--and unexpectedly finds love with Dodson's flirt and main attraction, Alva Starr. Alva and Owen then try to escape Alva's mother's (Hazel) clutches and the town's revenge.—Kelly
- During the midst of the Great Depression, teenager Willie Starr tells a recent story of her family in Dodson, Mississippi, and the now-condemned building that was the family boarding house where she still lives by herself. Her father had just abandoned the family, leaving her mother, Hazel Starr, to open the boarding house to survive. Hazel used her attractive older daughter Alva Starr as bait to lure men to the house as boarders. Alva, whom Willie idolized, in turn fostered this role in the hopes of finding a wealthy man who would take her away from Dodson, preferably to New Orleans which she dreamed of seeing one day--hopefully a man she would love in return, not just for his money. Hazel tried to push Alva on to their wealthiest boarder, married Gerard Johnson, who was old enough to be Alva's father. Hazel's boyfriend, J.J. Nichols, also one of the boarders, came because of Alva and stayed because of Alva. A mysterious young stranger, Owen Legate, came to stay at the house for a week. It wasn't until near the end of Owen's stay that the Starrs and the rest of the town learned that he was a New Orleans-based railroad executive in town to review the personnel records to see which men would be laid off, largely because of the downturn in the economy, which would probably negatively affect the Starrs' livelihood. Regardless, Alva fell for Owen, also despite or perhaps because he saw through her whorish facade to the scared young woman she really was, she who used fantasy to endure her reality. Willie concludes the story with whether Alva and Own had their happily-ever-after, which would have happened despite Hazel fighting all the way to keep her meal ticket.—Huggo
- Willie Star narrates the story about her sister Alva Star is the town flirt. Her mother uses Alva to meet the needs of the family. Legate and Alva are attracted to each other but he doesn't like the family's values. Even though he is attracted to Alva he leaves when his task is done. Alva is heartbroken and challenges her mother by getting drunk and openly flirting with her mother's boyfriend who offers to marry her and take her away from Dodson. Alva marries the boyfriend ( Charles Bronson) and "rolls him" and runs away to New Orleans to find Legate. She finds him and they are happy. She sends for her sister who subsequently tells her mother Alva's location. Alva's mother comes and dramatically reveals how Alva treated "her husband". Alva humiliated runs away contracts tuberculosis and dies.
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