Pauline Swanson is a recovering alcoholic who has dedicated the last ten years of her life caring for her estranged father who has just died. Now she’s ready to start living again herself.

 

Volunteering for a hospice program, she’s assigned to Deborah “DeeDee” Deneaux, a 76-year-old Creole woman in the final stages of pulmonary sarcoidosis. As Pauline learns about DeeDee’s sprawling life story—growing up in 1960's New Orleans, her provocative adventures in 1970's San Francisco, and her success in 1980's Chicago—a bond develops between the two women. But Pauline’s past won’t stay buried, and she will need to confront the traumas of her own childhood and the mistakes of her youth.

 

Meanwhile, when Pauline meets DeeDee’s son, Raymond, and learns of his strained relationship with his dying mother, Pauline feels compelled to mend their fractured relationship before it’s too late.

 

The Dancer and the Swan is at once a historical drama against the backdrop of urban renewal and social change, while also being an exploration of determination and faith against the traumas of life as experienced by two strong, unique women.