The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was a multi-racial. all women's jazz band that toured the US in the 1940s. The film places the International Sweethearts in an historical context and explores the climate of the late 30s and early 40s, especially for women and minorities. For instance, as a racially integrated band, when performing in the South, white and mulatto members of the band had to wear dark make-up as a survival technique. The film interweaves interviews with surviving members of the band with rare archival footage of them in performance, music, photographs and memorabilia from private collections.