Premise

In October 1927, the first feature film with synchronized sound was released, ushering in the era of the talkies and the end of silent films.

Two years later, the stock market crashed, and the Great Depression settled over the United States. With economic hardships and a decade of struggles on the horizon, the American people looked to the west for an outlet-- an outlet in the form of Hollywood.

It's January 1930 and Californians have been making pictures for fifteen years. But there's a new player in town by the name of H.C. Hathaway. Hathaway's grandfather was a shipping magnate, and H.C. is just aching to make a name for himself. His inheritance has been used to establish a movie studio of his own, one with state of the art cameras and sound technologies. He's got the money to lavish on these films, but now he needs people to produce them. With a little luck and a lot of hard work, Galaxy Pictures should be a money and star maker in no time.

And of course, there's a life outside the backlot. Reporters, policemen, politicians, gangsters, and regular people alike all call Hollywood home. Perhaps that's all part of the allure. The siren's call seems to apply to everybody, rich or poor, beautiful or ugly, good or evil.