The Empress of One brings back many characters from The Cape Ann in its story of Sally Wheeler and her mother, Stella. Growing up in the 1930s and '40s, Sally is a creative child in a restrictive environment. But she must cope with her mother's increasing estrangement from her family as Stella falls into the depths of unremitting depression. At a time when mental illness was hushed up and misunderstood, the close-knit town turns colder and more judgmental as Stella's erratic behavior grows more severe. Only Sally's talent and ambition as an actress and playwright allow her to find release in worlds of her own creation, worlds where she is always an "empress of one."