The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Lo, Malinda. Last Night at the Telegraph Club. Dutton Books, 2021.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club is split into 48 chapters divided over six parts. The novel mostly unfolds over a single present timeline spanning from late summer of 1954 to January of 1955. Following the sixth part is an epilogue that takes place one year after the main events of the plot.

In Part I, Lily Hu, a teenage girl who lives with her family in Chinatown, is becoming aware of her attraction to other girls and women. At school, Lily, who is interested in outer space, begins to bond with a Caucasian girl named Kathleen Miller, who is interested in airplanes. Lily’s childhood friend Shirley Lum invites her to a picnic hosted by a Chinese cultural organization. Shirley likes a boy named Calvin who is involved with the organization, and wants Lily to date Calvin’s brother, Will. In the bathroom at school, Kathleen sees a picture of a “male impersonator” (16), Tommy Andrews, that Lily has been carrying with her. Tommy Andrews performs at a place called the Telegraph Club; Kathleen tells Lily she has been there. The two girls begin to spend time together outside of school, and Kathleen asks Lily to call her Kath. Lily soon finds out from her parents that the organization Calvin is involved in is believed to have communist leanings. She also learns that her father, a doctor, had his citizenship papers taken by the FBI because he refused to confirm that Calvin, a patient of his, was a communist.

In Part II, Lily and Kathleen continue to spend time together and begin to discuss romantic love and attraction between women. Lily volunteers to help Shirley on the committee for a school dance to avoid going there with Will. At the dance, Lily leaves her station at the refreshments table to walk outside with Kath, who suggests that her friend Jean could obtain a fake ID for Lily so that she could go to the Telegraph Club. Shirley later scolds Lily for leaving the dance, and also warns her against spending time with Kath, as Kath is friends with Jean, who is queer. Lily leaves the dance in response. Kath soon gives Lily her fake ID, and the girls agree to go to the Telegraph Club on a Friday night.

In Part III, Lily sneaks out of her family’s home to go to the Telegraph Club with Kath, where she feels overwhelmed by Tommy Andrews’ performance and her physical presence. Tommy talks to Lily briefly, asking if she speaks English, and Lily is unable to reply. She goes home and continues to think of Tommy. At school, Lily and Shirley begin to speak again. Shirley says that she does not want to lose their friendship and asks Lily for a truce. While spending Thanksgiving with her family, Lily speaks to her Aunt Judy, who has a job at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, on the phone. Lily is grateful for Aunt Judy’s support of her interest in math and science.

In Part IV, Lily and Kath return to the Telegraph Club, where Lily feels more comfortable this time. Later, Lily spends a day with Shirley near Ocean Beach. Shirley tells Lily that she wants to enter the Miss Chinatown Contest, a local beauty pageant, and as it may be her and Lily’s last year together, she wants Lily to head her support committee. Lily agrees, and in the following weeks finds herself spending less time with Kath. She eventually seeks Kath out and, realizing she misses her, suggests they visit the club again. They agree to go on December 30th. Lily spends Christmas Eve attending a Christmas pageant with her family, where her thoughts keep drifting to Kath.

In Part V, Lily and Kath go back to the Telegraph Club, and this time attend a party after Tommy’s show, having been invited by Tommy’s girlfriend, Lana Jackson. During the party, it becomes clear to Lily that other people think she and Kath are a couple. Lily later confesses she has feelings for Kath, Kath confesses she has feelings for Lily, and they kiss on the street before parting that night. In the following days, Lily begins to meet Kath in secret between meeting with Shirley to prepare for the Miss Chinatown Contest. At one point, Lily spots Shirley kissing Calvin and understands that Shirley is seeing Calvin secretly. After this, Lily meets Kath in a classroom that is not being used at the time and the two girls have sex. The next time she meets Kath at the Telegraph Club, the club is raided by the police. The girls are separated, and Lily does not know what has happened to Kath.

In Part VI, Lily is unable to reach Kath by telephone the next day. She attempts to tell her mother about the club and her sexuality, but her mother becomes angry, saying that there are no homosexuals in their family. Lily ends up staying overnight with Lana, who is alone as Tommy was arrested at the club. Aunt Judy shows up at Lana’s apartment and insists on taking Lily home for the New Year’s dinner with her family. After Lily refuses to admit that her involvement with Kath and the club was a mistake, her parents tell her that she will be finishing the rest of the school year in Pasadena with Aunt Judy. Lily understands that they are separating her from Kath and is saddened by this, but later feels a sense of excitement and freedom as she is on the train from San Francisco to Pasadena.

In the novel’s epilogue, Kath and Lily reunite a year later. They have kept in touch during their time apart, and Lily feels a sense of lightness and buoyancy from their love.