The book recounts the coming of age, and coming out, of Chris through his experience with the deaths of his father and his lover Samuel, the latter from AIDS. Chris meets his first lover, Kenneth, in Singapore, where Kenneth has traveled from Indonesia to study; he meets his second lover, Jack, in Sydney after he travels to Australia to come out, and leaves for London, the birthplace of Maurice, after Samuel's death.
The book details Chris's development as a young man, marked by the deaths of his father and lover, Samuel, who died from AIDS.  He meets his first love, Kenneth, in Singapore while Kenneth is studying in Indonesia; he encounters his second love, Jack, in Sydney after traveling to Australia to come out; and finally leaves for London, where Maurice was born, following Samuel's passing.