In the autumn of 1975, a small town struggles with the mysterious murder of Brandon Pierce, a gay teenager found dead in his parents' bed following a high-school key party. As Thomas Edgecombe, the editor of the town's newspaper, diligently reports on the crime, he begins to suspect that his two sons may know more about the murder than they're letting on. Daniel, a straight-A student and a griend of the victim, seems destined for a prestigious college scholarship and a letter life, while his younger brother Pete numbs his adolescent pain in a haze of marijuana smoke and derelict behavior.