Sadie idolizes her elder sister Georgia, a popular folk singer who is happily married and has children but is unable to break out of the bar-band circuit and achieve the fame she craves. This is partly as a result of her propensity to drugs and alcohol, but also as a result of her own poor choices in men. Finally, Sadie's Achilles heel is a gruff, unlovely voice that contrasts sharply with her sister's audience-pleasing singing.