It is October 1957. A time of Eisenhower conformity, police and mob strongholds, and Red Scare paranoia. A relic of Hollywood's Golden Age, the aging Paradise Palms Hotel is on the brink of change. David Shapiro-eldest son of recently widowed Max Shapiro-has assumed a leadership role. But the more he digs into the hotel's business, the more he questions who his father is. It's not just the tenuous ties to gangster Mickey Cohen, who is trying to commandeer "the Palms," but also the sudden appearance of a mysterious African American guest named Rae Lynn, who improbably rises in stature. As long-buried secrets come to light, David's battle to keep the family intact takes a tragic turn. His actions mirror an America lurching from the surface simplicity of the '50s to the turmoil of the 1960s in this riveting neo-noir family saga.