A winter morning in the backstreets of a small English town; in the greyest of circumstances Eddie and Rick first become aware of each other. Eddie is soon fascinated by this young heterosexual, an obsession which threatens to drag him ever deeper into self-doubt and uncertainty. But his discovery of the secret of Rick's past forces both to re-examine their deepest feelings and beliefs, as they find themselves developing a bond just as powerful, yet somehow stranger than love.