For many gay men in America in 1955, life was an exercise in concealment, where to be one's true self could spell rejection, jail, or even death. For Jack Lovett, it means getting thrown out of his house on a cold March night with just the shoes on his feet, his jacket, and his sketchbook.

Jack never expected to find real friends in his miserable existence...and he expected to find a mud-caked soldier straight from World War II lying in the grass even less. Martin Swire is beautiful, he's brash, and he's asking Jack to help him reconnect to his past. How could Jack say no? He's got nothing to lose.

But as they head for New York City to find Martin's wartime friend Rob, Jack unwittingly draws an unearthly presence behind him, one that's been trailing him since childhood.