Vicki Starr was born in Puerto Rico in 1932 and migrated to the United States, first to New York City, then settled in San Francisco. She began expressing her female gender identity early in life, which caused a rift with her family. She transitioned in the early 1950s, at a time when there was widespread hostility towards queer and trans people, yet she was insistent on living as her most authentic self. She became a celebrated performer during the rise of topless entertainment in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood in the late 1950s, where her name could be seen in lights on the marques of clubs such as El Cid, Pierre's, and Finocchio's.

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     At a late stage in her life while preparing to move to Florida, Vicki left a suitcase with a friend containing all the items preserved in this book. They include photos, slides, and ephemera spanning the 1940s through 1990s, presented in a roughly chronological format. This book intends to honor and remember the life of a LGBTQIA+ trailblazer and to show that queer people have existed at every juncture of history, but are often left out of the narrative.