The story takes place in the mid 1930s. F. Scott Fitzgerald was in a bad way. He was battling alcoholism and depression. His wife, Zelda, was admitted to the Highland Hospital of North Carolina. While staying at the Grove Park Inn, in Asheville, NC, he fired a revolver in a suicide attempt. After that, the Grove Park Inn wanted him to leave, but allowed him to stay if he had someone to look after him.
Enter Dorothy Richardson. Dorothy was both his nurse and companion. The story goes that he eventually became friends with her and wanted to help her literary growth. So he gave her a list of 22 books that he recommended. Richardson wrote at the top of the list the following words:
"These are books that S.F. thought should be required reading."
