A mosaic song cycle weaving together the lives of five mistresses over the ages. Theres Tess, a modern day woman who struggles with success in her career and failure with men; Ching, a 14 year old girl in Sung Dynasty China who is sold to a wealthy older man to save her family from poverty; Diane de Poitiers, the life long mistress of Henri II, King of France; Lulu White, the most famous bordello madam in turn-of-the-century Storyville, New Orleans: and Anais Nin the world famous diarist and sexual dynamo. As they unfold their stories we explore what it means to be a mistress to come second.