While there, he sees his partner, Tim Callahan, escorting his boss, a prominent New York State senator who is there for a photo op with the comatose Catholic Bishop McFee.

Rutka shows Strachey his files on outing targets, one of which is Bruno Slinger, a prominent state politician who has voted against gay rights.

As he investigates, Strachey becomes convinced Rutka and Santin are staging the various attacks, quits the case, and returns the unused portion of the retainer.

Santin identifies three upcoming targets: Slinger, children's show host Ronnie Linklater, and an unidentified man.

Strachey asks Rutka's sister Ann why Resuto received such a large payoff, and she reluctantly explains that it was for a life insurance policy; Santin is the beneficiary.

Rutka explains that he faked his death, framed Father Morgan, and exposed McFee as a pedophile to use the life insurance money to fund cheap drugs for AIDS patients in Mexico.

As they toast their new perspective, they destroy a file Rutka kept on Strachey, who escaped controversy when his gay lover was made a scapegoat by the U.S. military.

This film reveals that before becoming a private investigator, Donald was in the armed services, but was forced out because of the ban on gay servicemembers.

Although this was the first film adaptation of one of Richard Stevenson's books about the gay private eye, Donald Strachey, it was not the first of his novels to be published.