Summary

The novel begins with a breakdown of how many “faggots” live in the area of New York City. “There are now more faggots in the New York City area than Jews. There are now more faggots in the entire United States than all the yids and kikes put together” (3). Narration also sets the time of the narrative on the busy Memorial Day weekend in May, unusually warm and unusually busy with openings of clubs and bars catering to the faggot clientele.

At a bathhouse, Fred considers the long list of kinky offers being made to him by a fat man and his “slave.” Eventually engaging with them both, his mind (and narration) wander through a pair of conversations with friends who had both tried to convince him that his goals of being both fully free and in love are hopeless. His mind returns...