 Nancy " Nan " Astley is a sheltered 18 @-@ year @-@ old living with her working @-@ class family and helping in their oyster restaurant in Whitstable , Kent . She becomes instantly and desperately enamoured with a " masher " , or male impersonator , named Kitty Butler , who performs for a season at the local theatre . They begin a friendship that grows when , after Kitty finds an opportunity to perform in London for better exposure , she asks Nan to join her . Nan enthusiastically agrees and leaves her family to act as Kitty 's dresser while she performs . Although Kitty and Nan acknowledge their relationship to be sisterly , Nan continues to love Kitty until a jealous fight forces Kitty to admit she feels the same , although she insists that they keep their relationship secret . Simultaneously , Kitty 's manager Walter decides that Kitty needs a performing partner to reach true success , and suggests Nan for the role . Nan is initially horrified by the idea , but takes to it . The duo become quite famous until Nan realises she is homesick after being gone from her family for more than a year . Her return home is underwhelming , so she returns to London early to find Kitty in bed with Walter . They announce that the act is finished and they are to be married . 
