Ross Ohrenstedt, a high-flier in the fashionable field of Queer Studies, is overseeing the collection of the works of Damon Van Slyke, prominent gay man of letters. Sorting through the papers, Ross stumbles across a 'lost' work by an unknown author. His ambitous quest to identify the mystery writer paints a vibrant portrait of gay history, and tells the inspiring, moving stories of writers, living and dead, who helped form an emerging gay cultural identity.