Twenty-seven year old William Brandt could not have been happier in March 1910. He was finally living in New York City, on the verge of getting a job as a teacher, and reveling in all The Big Apple offered. But then a freak accident in Central Park brought handsome, wealthy Elliot Reid into his life-and William's world was thrown into chaos. The more two men explore their overwhelming desires for each other, the more the differences between them-plus the times in which they live-seem to make their life together impossible. Then urgent business forces Elliot to go to Germany for several months, and he persuades William come along as the tutor for Elliot's nephew, eight-year-old Robert. In Dresden William blossoms, and soon he is being courted by a wealthy young widow, which throws Elliot into a panic. The more frightened Elliot becomes of losing the man he loves, the more he withdraws, and the more William fears he has no alternative but to stay in Dresden-without the man he loves. But attending the world premiere of Richard Strauss's newest opera, Der Rosenkavalier, forces both men to realize they can no longer run from the only thing that truly matters in the world: their love.
