Gay writer/activist John Rutka is the target of a drive-by shooting. He narrowly escapes with his life. The police are too busy to give him the time of day so he hires Albany, NY private investigator, Donald Strachey, to find the perpetrators.
Strachey is less than willing to help John. As an outspoken publisher of a magazine mandated to "out" prominent New York state citizens, both gays and straights despise John Rutka.
To say John is a man with influential and powerful enemies would be an understatement. Strachey easily lists ten individuals who would pay to have John dead and his magazine permanently shut up. After much persuasion and financial inducement, Strachey takes the job (against both his and his PI partner's better judgment.)
After less than one day on the job, Strachey is called to Rutka's house - it's been firebombed. Again John Rutka narrowly escapes injury. But Strachey hits upon a clue that leads him to suspect Rutka's current boyfriend, Eddie.
Not wanting to delve any further into this apparently violent lover's quarrel, Strachey quits. Rutka is incensed and pleads with Strachey to stay on the job. Eddie would never want to hurt him. But following his long honed instincts, Strachey walks. The next morning the PI opens the New York post to a sizzling headline detailing the gruesome details of Rutka's death.
Racked by guilt and a professional need to clean up loose ends. Donald Strachey confronts Rutka's grieving partner. Eddie convinces the skeptical Strachey of his innocence and the two agree to work together to find Rutka's killer.
Leafing through Rutka's personal files, all leads point to a particularly sinister closeted homosexual Rutka referred to in his notes as the "All-American Asshole Mega-Hypocrite." A prominent person who would stop at nothing--even murder--to keep his secret life concealed.
Strachey's life takes many interesting twists and turns as he delves deeper and deeper into a Gay underworld he never knew existed. Searching for the murderer's identity, Strachey soon faces the realization that he's in too deep to get out alive. The only way Strachey can survive is to unmask and "out" this lecherous villain before he kills again. And the next name on the murder's list is Donald Strachey. |
