Like thousands of young and not-so-young men before him, Barry Lowe ran away. He escapes from the midwest to the San Francisco of the 1970s and ends up in the Castro district of San Francisco and tries to drown himself and his memories in a life of alcohol and sex peppered with just enough carpentry work to keep him alive. When his brother dies in a car accident, he makes a reluctant trip back home to help his ailing father and mother handle the funeral of their youngest son. He relives his childhood in the same building, their funeral home, recalling memories of the funniest and most bizarre things he experienced. Returning to Castro Street, he finds he has become a more mature, understanding and loving person ready to make his contribution to the community and live a life as a proud, openly gay man.