In New York City, Larry Porter, a film student in his thirties, hopes to earn his master’s degree from the Horton School for Social Research by making a documentary about abused children, their parents, and suggested methods of treatment for the problem. His research includes interviews with reformed abusers, adult survivors of child abuse, and visits to hospital wards.

During one of his hospital visits, Larry meets fourteen-year-old Thomas Carroll, who endured beatings and cigarette burns from his alternately loving and abusive parents. Larry decides to make Thomas the subject of the film, and as the two become aware of each other’s homosexuality, a romance develops between them. They move to San Francisco, California, to begin a new life together.