Songs in Ursa Major

Set in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the novel follows Jane Quinn, a talented singer and guitarist from Bayleen Island, a small coastal island. Jane lives at Gray Gables, a Victorian cottage, with her grandmother Elsie, her aunt Grace, and her pregnant cousin Maggie. The Quinn women are a proudly matriarchal clan who have never married. Jane works multiple jobs: bartending at the Carousel pub, assisting at Elsie's hair salon, and serving as a certified nursing assistant at Cedar Crescent Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, a psychiatric facility. Jane's mother, Charlotte Quinn, was a songwriter whose song "Lilac Waltz" was stolen by the performer Tommy Patton. Charlotte's personality changed after the theft, and she went out one night when Jane was nine and never came back.

On July 26, 1969, Jane and her band, the Breakers, are thrust onto the main stage of the Island Folk Fest when headliner Jesse Reid, a rising folk-rock star, fails to appear due to a motorcycle crash. Facing a hostile crowd, Jane opens with Jesse's hit "Sweet and Mellow," winning them over with her extraordinary voice and stage presence. Willy Lambert, an artist-and-repertoire (A&R) executive at Pegasus Records responsible for scouting and developing talent, approaches Jane about a record deal. Jane is wary, citing the industry's exploitation of her mother, but agrees on the condition that the Breakers are included and retain artistic control.

Grace secures a nursing assignment caring for Jesse at his family's Caverswall estate, known as the Shack. When Maggie goes into labor, Jane covers Grace's shift and meets Jesse for the first time. She discovers a grand piano and begins visiting regularly to play it. A friendship deepens into creative partnership: Jesse asks Jane to help transcribe his new album in exchange for teaching her to read music. He confides that he spent time at a psychiatric institution after his mother's death; Jane shares only that her own mother disappeared and was never found. Grace warns Jane not to get too attached, citing Jesse's unspecified "history."

Romantic tension builds, but Jane keeps her distance. The Breakers travel to New York to record their debut album. Their assigned producer, Vincent Ray, is dismissive and leaves for London during their studio time. Jane convinces sound engineer Simon Spector to record and mix the album without him. When Vincent Ray returns, he threatens to destroy their careers. Photographer Alex Redding captures the confrontation in what becomes the album's iconic cover image. Vincent Ray retaliates by blackballing the album with the Pegasus board, reducing its print run to 300 copies.

After returning home, Jane avoids Jesse for weeks. He appears at the Breakers' album release show, and they finally kiss. Jesse proposes that the Breakers open for his 25-city national tour. On the road, they begin a secret relationship, and media speculation drives both records up the charts. A Rolling Stone cover story fuels public fascination, turning Spring Fling into a top-10 hit. Jesse writes a song called "Let the Light Go" for Jane, telling her it will always be hers, and their nightly joint encore of it becomes a tour highlight.

As the tour progresses, Jesse grows increasingly dependent on drugs, becoming cold and irritable. Awakened by her recurring nightmare about her mother, Jane begins writing down her dreams; three lines emerge that will become the song "Wallflower." In Memphis, Jane overhears Pegasus head Lenny Davis telling Willy that Jane's presence provides cover for Jesse's deteriorating image and suggesting a sham marriage for publicity. She then finds Jesse unconscious with a tourniquet and syringe. Jane breaks up with him, lying that her feelings were never deep, driven by fear of repeating her mother's pattern of waiting for someone who cannot be helped. The Breakers dissolve: Greg Lightfoot, the drummer, leaves the tour to be with Maggie; Kyle Lightfoot, the bassist, joins Jesse's band; and Pegasus installs Morgan Vidal, a wealthy young woman already in Jesse's social circle, as Jane's replacement.

Jane returns home and sinks into months of depression. Elsie intervenes, forcing her back to work and counseling: "Don't run from your pain. Put it to work for you." Jane begins writing prolifically, and Willy secures a minimal solo contract. She moves to Laurel Canyon to record Songs in Ursa Major with Simon. During the sessions, Simon reveals that Jesse secretly recorded guitar tracks for three of her songs; his playing fits perfectly, and Jane authorizes using them. On Christmas Eve, Jesse appears at Gray Gables. They spend the night together, but in the morning he reveals he is supposed to propose to Morgan that day. Jane refuses him, insisting her record must stand on its own. Jesse leaves to propose.

Media coverage of Jesse and Morgan's marriage causes Pegasus to delay Songs in Ursa Major by five months. When the album drops, it receives critical acclaim. Jane's single "Last Call" reaches number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, though promotion remains limited, overshadowed by Jesse's celebrity. At the opening of Silo, Jesse and Morgan's nightclub on the island, Jesse performs "Let the Light Go" with Morgan, and Jane realizes the song he once promised would always be hers has been given to someone else. Outside, Jesse confronts Jane: He has discovered that Charlotte is alive and committed at Cedar Crescent. He tells Jane she lied about "the only thing that mattered" and can never forgive her.

An extended flashback reveals the truth. Charlotte had schizophrenia. After "Lilac Waltz" aired on the radio, she threw a Molotov cocktail at Tommy Patton onstage at the Folk Fest, setting his shirt on fire. Grace subdued Charlotte and had her committed. The family told everyone Charlotte had disappeared, and Grace worked her way from laundress to nurse at the Center to pay for Charlotte's care.

Devastated, Jane flees to Matala, Crete, living anonymously for months and abandoning music. Grace visits and admits the family's secrecy was a mistake. Willy travels to Matala at his own expense to bring Jane home, revealing Pegasus has dropped her. Back on the island, Jane is invited to perform at the Grammy Awards. The Pegasus board, led by Vincent Ray, orders her to sing "Spring Fling," threatening to bury her catalog if she refuses. Onstage, seeing Jesse blank-eyed in the audience, she plays "Wallflower" instead, weaving in the melody of "Lilac Waltz" and changing the final verse to tell Jesse she loves him. The audience, led by Loretta Mays, Jesse's keyboardist and a multiple Grammy winner that evening, rises to its feet.

Jane visits Charlotte afterward. Charlotte tells Jane she watched the Grammys and believes she herself performed "Lilac Waltz." Jane tells her mother she was "the best." Pegasus soon files for bankruptcy, voiding Jane's contract. Willy founds Black Sheep Records and offers to help Jane reclaim her catalog. When a fire destroys Silo, Jesse overdoses on heroin. Grace rushes to Jesse and Morgan's nearby home with Jane and saves his life. Jane later visits Jesse during his recovery and tells him the full truth about Charlotte and how the secret shaped their relationship. She tells him she loves him and that "being able to struggle is a gift." Jesse checks himself into Cedar Crescent for treatment.

An epilogue set in 2022, framed as a newspaper article, reveals the characters' fates. Jane's fourth album won major Grammys, and Songs in Ursa Major was named one of the most important albums of the 20th century. Jesse achieved sobriety and found lasting love. Jane never married but has two daughters and a granddaughter. At a park dedication on the former Silo site, Jane and Jesse, now in their seventies, share a quiet conversation in the shade.