Through a close reading of mid-twentieth century British films, Brief Encounters explores a range of lesbian and gay screen images from such diverse films as Soldiers of the King, Pygmalion, Dangerous Moonlight, In Which We Serve, Blithe Spirit, The Way to the Stars, Brief Encounter, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, Kind Hearts and Coronets, A Taste of Honey, The L-Shaped Room, The Servant, A Hard Day's Night, The Family Way, If and The Killing of Sister George.

In addition, Stephen Bourne looks in detail at the ground-breaking Victim and brings together the moving reminiscences of gay men who first saw the film in the hostile climate of 1961, and the reactions of contemporary critics. Free of reductive jargon and theory, this fluent chronology of over 150 famous, half-remembered and forgotten films is a celebration of the contribution of gays and lesbians to British cinema culture.