Mavis Dogblood is a Mohawk painter who keeps the memory of her dead husband Jessie Lightning alive through the recreation of stories he would tell her. Jessie was a musician whose compositions continues to haunt Mavis. Mavis has a potential lover waiting for her to absolve her grief and continue in the world of the living. Mavis is delivering a series of paintings to New York. On the trip to New York she decides to visit Jessie's grandmother Josephine. Here Mavis is given permission to love her friend and lover Bug.