Dancehall Queen begins with a grim look at the poverty and squalor of Jamaican street vendor. The struggle of a Kingston street vendor (Audrey Reid) trying to raise two children on her own is scraping together a living in the ghetto section of Kingston, Jamaica by selling pop outside the crowded dancehalls of Kingston. Uncle Larry, the rich "sugar daddy" that has been supporting the family for years and has been hounding the young daughter (niece) for sexual favors; and Marcia encourages her 15-year-old daughter to accept the advances of a middle-aged sugar daddy. She wanted her daughter to do whatever it took to keep the money coming in, even if it meant giving her body to her Uncle Larry, and at such a young age. A vicious knife wielding thug named Priest, terrorizes her, stabs to death her younger brother's best friend before their eyes, and threatens her brother with death if he turns "informer." So, when the dissolute patron (uncle) threatens to abandon the family, and her brother breaks down under pressure, Marcia hits bottom. She needs to escape to a haven where she can get lost in fantasy. Reid realizes that she needs to find a way out of poverty instead of relying on the uncle. One day she see's the current dancehall queen getting out of a flashy sports car looking like crap so she decides that she could also take a shot at becoming a dancehall queen and thus earning a nice pretty packet along the way and a serious amount of respect. In a nightclub for a brief escape from her problems, Marcia hits upon a solution: continue to work by day but at night prepare to win the lucrative title of Dancehall Queen of Kingston, Jamaica. .
Marcia creates an alias that becomes known as "The Mystery Lady." The mystery lady is the new girl in town who soon learns the ropes and has men drooling at her tantalizing dancehall moves including Uncle Larry. Marcia starts dressing up as a dancehall queen and wowing the crowds with her new "Mystery Lady" persona.