 From 1966 until 1989, Maud s was a San Francisco bar for women. Almost half the film sets the context leading to Maud s opening: lesbians discovering their sexual orientation and having few places to socialize; the foundation of the Daughters of Bilitis in 1955; the need for alternatives to gay (men s) bars, subject to police raids in the 1950s. So, Ricky Streicher opened Maud s: her goal was an honest, open, free place. Good times were on the rise until the late 1970s, then came Harvey Milk s assassination and AIDS. People drank less in the 1980s as well and had fewer casual affairs. Maud s closes, and patrons express great fondness for the place and its people.