We're in a back alley; it's midnight. That's the time and place a group of alley cats and house cats regularly hang out, to harmonize—as the Back Fence Choir—and socialize. Tonight a crisis is brewing. Jack, a restless young tomcat, has been promising for years to settle down with the lovely--and very domesticated--Eleanor. Her comfortable home has a place for another cat, she's told him. But he's afraid of commitment, and lately he's been doing a lot of flirting with Desiree, who's sexier, wilder, and younger than Eleanor. Eleanor has told Jack to make up his mind soon, and now things have come to a head. Jack's pal Murphy, who's never slept under a roof, has recently breezed into town. He wants Jack to go with him when he breezes back out—tomorrow at dawn—and Murphy is a very persuasive personality. So Jack's moment of decision is approaching: Will he go or stay? And if he stays, will he finally link up with Eleanor? The other cats, inevitably, will try to influence the decision: Olivia, sophisticated but warmhearted, would like to see Jack and Eleanor finally pair off. (And she's hoping the example might encourage Murphy to settle down with her. Their own long fling ended years ago; but the fire’s probably revivable.) Randolph is another cat who'd like to see Jack choose a steady home life; Randolph is an elegant, older hearth-lover, who favors security and routine himself (and for everyone). In other words, he's a certain kind of classic gay figure, of an age (and an era) to be most interested in comfort and quiet.  Desiree is a very unsettling presence—sexy, a bit reckless, she's a walk on the wild side. As the night passes, the cats in the group try to push the situation in one direction or another, expressing in songs their feelings about love, commitment, and freedom. The musical styles range from soft shoe to hard rock, Broadway to folk music, as they examine their ways of life, their connections to people—and the way these mirror their relationships to each other (which of course mirror our relationships to each other). Eventually, after a lingering glance at the road not taken, Jack does decide to move in with Eleanor. And there's a last-minute hint that, someday, Olivia and Murphy may in fact follow suit . . .