In 1906 New Orleans, shoe shiner Sterling Crawford is the eleven-year-old son of a washer woman who aspires to be a great trumpeter like his hero, King Buddy Bolden. But Sterling faces a lot of obstacles, including desperate poverty, Jim Crow laws, and organized neighborhood criminals. Sterling's dreams won't be thwarted however, and as he plays for pennies in the park to help his mother out, he perseveres for a better life.
