Black art student Perry lives in the college dormitory at Columbia University after his homophobic parents kick him out of home when they discover he is gay.

At a social loose end, Perry befriends an elderly, impoverished man named Bruce, whom he discovers was an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance.

Through recalling his friendships with other important Harlem Renaissance figures Langston Hughes, Aaron Douglas, Wallace Thurman, and Zora Neale Hurston, Bruce chronicles some of the challenges he faced as a young, Black gay writer in the 1920s.

[3] The film received positive reviews from critics, who applauded its handling of themes of queer community and racial turmoil and fetishization.

"[6] In a positive review, Ty Burr of The Boston Globe wrote, "The larger context -- of whether the African-American struggle can include black homosexuality as part of its rebellion and one of its voices without having a meltdown -- is put across with admirable finesse.