Paul Bailey dissects the lives of two extraordinary men and one remarkable woman who defied the sexual prejudices of their age and lived by their own rules. Richly anecdotal and frequently laugh-out-loud funny, it tells the riches-to-rags story of Fred Barnes, a singer, dancer, comedian and scourge of the military; Naomi Jacob, a terrible but prolific novelist, broadcaster and cross-dresser; and Arthur Marshall, wit, television personality and 'portly sunbeam'.

In making the best of their queerness, at a time when male homosexuals were regarded as criminals and lesbians as freaks of nature, they led fascinating and eventful lives, here memorably celebrated by Paul Bailey.