Stormé takes us on a journey that begins with her upbringing in New Orleans as a child of mixed race, learning to fight for herself and her identity. She is performing in Chicago as a Big Band vocalist under the stage name Stormy Dale when she befriends Billy Strayhorn, a gay pianist/composer for Duke Ellington’s Orchestra. She falls in love with a chorus line dancer, Diana, slowly shedding her girly persona in defiance of local crossdresser laws and working alonside mobsters.

An encounter with Doc Benner and Danny Brown, gay owners of the Jewel Box Revue drag show, leads her to embark on a national tour and Harlem residency as emcee and a male impersonator—one girl & 25 men. Now performing as Stormé DeLarverie, she forms a bond with femme illusionist Billy Daye—the male Billie Holiday.

Battles with the police who harass and arrest gays and crossdressers under rule of the NY State Liquor Authority erupts in 1969 due to a raid at the Stonewall Inn. Stormé’s scuffle with police is a watershed movement in the gay community which also marks her transition from entertainer to crusader for gay rights. As “Sheriff of the West Village,” Stormé is a defender of marginalized communities over her lifetime.