A few months in the life of Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein. During this 1930s summer, they fear Gertrude is seriously ill. While they await the results of medical tests, Alice attends to Gertrude in addition to giving assistance editing Gertrude's writing. They go driving in the French countryside (Gertrude drives, Alice navigates) and meet a young American on his way to fight in the Spanish Civil War. They visit Pablo Picasso and his muse, Fernande Olivier, and Guillaume Apollinaire. Ernest Hemingway pays a call. A friend brings a fatherless baby whom Alice agrees to care for. Through it all, Gertrude takes Alice for granted, treating her abruptly and unfeelingly. Hemingway complains on Alice's behalf. Can Gertrude bring herself to be tender?
—<jhailey@hotmail.com>