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Reed Hauser is a quiet, studious, and hard-working teenager living simply in rural Illinois with his family. The local church hires a new pastor, who moves into the parsonage with his wife and son, Ethan. Reed and Ethan take an instant liking to each other, becoming fast and strong friends, aided along by something unspoken blooming quickly between them. Ethan's father seems to catch onto this before they even realize it, forbidding Reed from setting foot in their house and trying at every turn to keep his son from spending any time with him. But as friendship quickly blossoms into a secret love, Ethan and Reed must stay vigilant and discreet with their affections so they can continue to explore and foster their growing relationship and love for one another.
This story of illicit secret love is perfectly backdropped by its setting in rural 1950s America and with a fire-and-brimstone preacher as its primary antagonist. Even though the societal and historical undertones are present, many of the characters seem willing to look the other way, leading Ethan and Reed to wonder whether anyone else has even considered the possibility that they could be lovers. The novella length keeps the story moving at a steady pace without hurrying the more tender, emotional moments shared between the main characters. Readers can move through this story at a brisk speed while still growing attached to its quaint environment and earnest characters. The author tells a romantic tale challenged not by heightened emotions and miscommunication but by prejudice and bigotry.