Cheryl is a young, African American lesbian who works in a video rental store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her friend Tamara. They earn extra money by making professional home videos for people. Cheryl becomes interested in films from the 1930s and 40s which feature black actresses. She notices that these actresses are often not credited. She watches a film called ''Plantation Memories'' with a black actress who is credited simply as "The Watermelon Woman". Cheryl decides to make a documentary film about the Watermelon Woman and find out more about her life.