A love story spanning two decades between two men who are at the opposite ends of the political spectrum during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1973, Alan Oakley lives as a straight, uptight Young Republican working for an establishment newspaper--until he meets Tommy Ballenger, a Texas teenager who has moved to Los Angeles to work for gay rights. When Alan first meets him at a party organized by Peter Baxter, an older entertainment lawyer, Alan sees Tommy as a potential interview subject for his book, a conservative attack on gay rights that he plans to call "The Straight Truth." Before he knows quite what has happened, Alan finds himself in bed and falling for Tommy. Alan and Tommy soon become the perfect couple, which rouses the envy of Peter, who promptly devises a cunning plan to break them up that includes publishing Alan's long-abandoned, long-repudiated manuscript anonymously.
