It is 1905, and Esther, a young African American woman, is working hard to fulfill her dreams of becoming a seamstress and living an independent life. She lives in a boarding house in Lower Manhattan, New York, where she sews intimate apparel for regular clients. Her clients are diverse, ranging from wealthy upper class women to prostitutes. She is loved by her clients and she is in great demand, which has made it possible for her to save quite a lot of money over the years. She keeps her savings in her quilt.
As the years go by, Esther's friends from the boarding house get married and leave. Esther stays, although she longs for the same kind of happy ending that the other women have. She longs for romance and yearns for a husband. Esther wants to find a suitable gentleman, and she also wants to open a beauty parlor for black women, because she wants them to be primped and pampered and treated as nicely as her white clients are.
Through a friend, Esther comes into contact with a man who sends her beautiful letters. His name is George and he works on the Panama Canal, where he is getting very lonely. Esther can't read the letters herself but she asks one of her patrons to read them to her, and to respond. Their relationship deepens and the letters become more tender and intimate. George suggests that they get married, even though they have never met each other. Esther is unsure; she loves receiving the letters, but she has become very fond of the Hasidic shopkeeper who owns the store where she purchases fabric. He is also falling in love with Esther, but they both know that that a relationship between them is unfeasible. Because of this, Esther accepts George's proposal.
George in real life, though, is not the same man that his letters suggested. When he arrives in New York, he finds Esther's life savings stuffed into her quilt, and steals them, spending her money on liquor, women, and gambling. Esther is hurt, and devastated by the loss of her savings, but she returns to the boarding house with her head held high, determined to use her talents as a seamstress to re-work her dreams, and to make the life that she wants out of the cards she has been dealt.
