C McAfee

The Boys Who Dazzle the Starlight C McAfee

It's Hollywood's most glamorous year - a shimmering time when jazz dazzles, swing is king and dance halls across the nation are hopping. Lording over all of this are the boys in the band.

It's 1939 and Charlie Van Dorn, a young trumpet player, swings out with the only band in his sleepy Ohio town - Teddy Arnold and his Blue Boys. The boys in the band revel in jazz, booze and the allure of fame. It's all fun and games until a prestigious photographer from the Big Apple hits their little town and dazzles them all - especially Charlie, with whom he has a deep fascination. Intoxicated by Charlie, Larry lures him to his hotel room under the guise that he wants to show him his photo collection of famous Big Bands - but Larry has more intimate ideas in mind. Starry-eyed and naive, Charlie accepts the invitation and ends up having his first encounter with another man.

Seduced by Larry, Charlie confesses he has strong feelings for his best friend, Jack DuPree - a young thief-in-the-making and the band's second-chair trumpet player. Desperate to get his band into the pages of Downbeat, the hapless band leader, Teddy, invites Larry to hit the road with the band. Now, Charlie, who has found himself gazing moon-eyed at Jack more than once, works hard to keep his heart off his sleeve - and his encounter with Larry a secret.

Their exploits take them on a journey that finds them running from the law, stealing hearts and liquor, and playing in the splashy clubs of Los Angeles during Hollywood's most glamorous year. But behind the dazzle and grandeur of their adventure lurks the dark side of a dream - one raging with unspeakable crime. It will threaten even the very best of friendships. Set during a time when America was about to lose its innocence, The Boys Who Dazzle the Starlight explores that one brief, beautiful moment we all have before we realize we are on the other side of adulthood.