When Nanita Cohen, daughter of Copperville’s mayor, faints before a charcoal painting where shadows seem to breathe, she sets in motion a chain of events that will define the rest of her life. Guided by her fierce mother Frida, the enigmatic artist Bill Cody, and her loyal friend Susan, Nanita leaves her provincial town behind to pursue a career in theater, first in San Francisco, then Chicago, then beyond. As she transforms into the celebrated actress Carmine Rose, the shadows that once haunted Copperville continue to trail her, surfacing in Bill’s paintings, in Thomas’s undeveloped photographs, and in Susan’s desperate choices. The story builds toward a final, shattering performance, and a reckoning between the living and those who never truly left.