It's the middle of the twentieth century and Portland has fallen into the hands of gangsters. Newly orphaned Mae Rose is on the lam from a knife wielding pimp, mustering her own worst impulses to survive, while Dr. Ruth Barnett, queen of Portland's nightlife, runs a lucrative abortion service. After the war, both women are caught in the cross hairs of anti-vice crusader Dottie "Do-good" Lee. But Mayor Lee's DA-in-pursuit has his own dirty little reasons to track Mae down. Girl in the River is a portrait of the intimate lives of women during one of the most corrupt periods in Portland history. It's an unflinching look at the power dynamics of sex. A glimpse into the work life of a call girl. An improbable love story. The tale of post-war assaults on reproductive rights. And a tribute to two remarkable and remarkably different women who shaped the lives of Portlanders during those tumultuous times: Dr. Ruth Barnett and Mayor Dorothy Lee.