Raised by a brutally stern, religious father in a small Southern town, Robbie Taylor arrives in New York City in 1978 as an optimistic, romantic, young man with a circle of new friends and begins a personal odyssey into enlightenment as he navigates through the hedonism of his youth.

At the heart of Robbie's new life in New York are his lovers and friends: Denise, a lesbian artist who yearns to understand and experience motherhood; Vince, a playwright who shepherds Robbie into gay culture and, eventually, activism; Jeff, a too-handsome actor with an enigmatic spiritual quest; and Nathan, who becomes Robbie's lover just as the AIDS epidemic becomes the epicenter of their world.

Robbie's losses mount, the world around him is ravaged and his faith is continually tested like a modern-day Job. Virtually defeated, he leaves Manhattan for Los Angeles where he attempts to repair his shattered life and where he hopes to find solace from his haunted yearnings.