Be careful what you wish for. At twenty-one years, Nora Bergman couldn't wait to get out of her small town of Viroqua, Wisconsin and create a new life in Boston Massachusetts. With a lack of planning but with great enthusiasm, Nora finds herself in the big city without lodging and a job to support herself. Mentored by two older women, Nora decides to develop the skills of a professional bartender, stripping her of her small town innocence as she finds herself absorbed in a world of alcohol, sex and drugs. Eventually finding herself back in Viroqua, she finds her life has distanced her from the simple innocent life she once lead but has lost forever.