Boomtown Chicago, 1920sa world of gangsters, musicians, and clubs. Young Benny Lehrman, born into a Jewish hat-making family, is expected to take over his fathers business, but his true passion is pianoespecially jazz. After dark, he sneaks down to the South Side to hear the bands play. One night he is asked to sit in with a group. His playing is first-rate. The trumpeter, a black man named Napoleon, becomes Bennys friend and musical collaborator. A saloon owner, Pearl Chimbrova, hires the duo to play at her saloon, which Napoleon christens The Jazz Palace. But Napoleons main gig is at a mob establishment, which doesnt take kindly to their musicians freelancing . . . As Benny, Napoleon, and Pearl navigate the highs and the lows of the Jazz Age, a bond is forged among them that is as memorable as it is lasting.