Ragtime follows three distinct families in early 20th-century New York striving for the American Dream: an affluent white family in New Rochelle, a Black musician and his sweetheart in Harlem, and a Jewish immigrant father and daughter on the Lower East Side. As their lives intersect, they confront societal conflicts involving racism, immigration, and class, framed by appearances from historical figures like Harry Houdini, Emma Goldman, and Booker T. Washington.