Josh Morgan is sent off to the midwest by his troubled parents. At a next-door picnic, he meets Senator Joseph McCarthy, who takes a liking to the fourteen-year-old boy. Eventually, Josh is caught up in the middle of those who love and those who hate his new friend, ‘Uncle Joe.’ McCarthy’s alcoholism leads to Josh experiencing horrific episodes, despite the Senator’s other acts of tender kindness. It falls upon Josh’s young shoulders–and an exceptional therapist–to navigate the all-or-nothing paradigm that is destroying him.