Returning to the characters readers grew to love in LUMINA, author Mary Flinn continues their parallel stories in Playing by Heart. The current-day Wilmington characters Anne Borden Montgomery and Mr. May are back to attic diving during the early stay-at-home days of the COVID-19 pandemic. After discovering more of AB's mother Sylvie's diaries, the two are eager to share these new treasures with their younger neighbors, Nate and Elle, on the front porch where they can sit outside, read to each other, and maintain social distancing. The reading is a nice break for Nate, who is struggling to work effectively from home, and Elle, determined to keep her bakery from falling victim to COVID.

Paired with their story is Sylvie Meeks' journey to the Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College in 1928. As a first-year performance student, Sylvie realizes she is a fish out of water with her ungainly Southern accent and unassuming ways. Pining for the family and unfinished business she's left behind, Sylvie is looking for just one friend. She finds four other misfits: Dot an overconfident soprano from Cincinnati; Bart, a fellow pianist from Chicago, vying for faculty favor; Hersch, a Jewish violinist from New York City; and Mina, a gifted singer and descendant of slaves. Sylvie narrates her life through soul-searching diary entries while trying to fit in and help her friends work through their own identity searches.

Who among Sylvie's friends will make the cut at Oberlin and go on to become professional musicians? Will Sylvie's search for truth destroy or strengthen her relationships? And what can Elle and her friends learn from Sylvie and her time as they endure their own efforts to cope with social distancing and planning a wedding amid a pandemic?