Summary

Prologue – In the wee small hours of a morning in 1995, Gerald lies awake and contemplates his situation – a diagnosis with HIV-AIDS, a recent hospital stay, impending illness and death, and a pile of pills nearby in case he feels inclined to end his life. Narration also reveals that he is part of a clinical trial of a new medication to combat HIV-AIDS, but is convinced that he is either part of the control group (that is, the group receiving sugar pills in order to gauge the effectiveness of the real medication) or that the medication is useless. He contemplates having cut himself off from friends, family, and colleagues (except for his friend Barbara), and recalls a visit from a social worker in the hospital, who asked him if he would have any regrets if he died the next day. Gerald recalls saying he would...