Cesario is gay, trans, and in love with Duke Orsino--who is deep in the closet and, to avoid marriage, pretending to woo a countess. Queer Shakespearean subtext becomes text in this historical romance reworking of Twelfth Night.

Shipwrecked far from home, her twin brother lost to the waves, Viola faces a choice. She could seek passage home to Messaline, where the executors of her estate will demand proper womanhood from her in exchange for her inheritance; or she could stay in Illyria and make her own freedom.

Thus Viola becomes Cesario, a young male musician to the Duke Orsino. The longer Cesario spends in Orsino's court, however, the clearer it is that "Cesario” is no mere disguise: Cesario is who Viola was always meant to be. But Cesario soon learns that manhood is not as simple as he might have thought; indeed, it is killing Orsino, who, to avoid being pressured by his courtiers into marriage, has chosen to woo the one woman who swears she cannot love him.

When Orsino reveals this to Cesario, and asks for his help, Cesario finds he cannot resist any action that might ease the handsome duke's suffering—it is clear to him that Orsino is avoiding marriage to protect himself from the weight of expectation…something Cesario understands intimately.

As this understanding between them begins to bloom into something sweet and unexpected, Cesario and Orsino must decide whether it is worth overcoming all their fears: of each other, of society, and of themselves.