Its plot hinges on a fateful incident from his teenage years, when his grandmother caught him attempting to have sex with his bisexual friend Fletcher, involuntarily outing him to his dysfunctional family as gay.

In the first segment, set in the present, the adult Sweet William has returned home to rural Nova Scotia for the first time since leaving ten years earlier, to attend the wedding of his sister Rosemary to Fletcher.

However, upon his return, he makes two unexpected discoveries: he can still see his younger selves living there and walking around the house, and he also has a new young pre-teen sister named Violet, whom he has never met because she was born after he left.

The second segment, set in the past, tells the story of Sweet William's teenage years leading up to the critical decision, including his bond with Rosemary and their mother Iris's struggles to protect her children from Whiskey Mac's abuse, as well as revealing the truth of Violet's origins, before ending with Sweet William's suicide.

"[5] For Variety, Brendan Kelly wrote that "'The Hanging Garden' is often in danger of seeming overly pretentious, but Fitzgerald wisely undercuts the formal artiness with strong, emotional storytelling.

[12] The film received 11 Genie Award nominations at the 18th Genie Awards, for Best Picture, Best Director (Fitzgerald), Best Supporting Actor (MacNeill), Best Supporting Actress (3: McKenna, Fox, Orenstein), Best Screenplay (Fitzgerald), Best Art Direction/Production Design (Taavo Soodor and Darlene Shiels), Best Costume Design (James A. Worthen), Best Overall Sound (Peter Harper, Phillipe Espantoso, George Hannan) and Best Editing (Susan Shanks).