Life is filled with its ups and downs, and 56-year-old Ned Brummel is realizing that, overall, things have been good. He recently received a phone call from Jack, an estranged friend with whom he grew up with and shared an on-and-off relationship. As a result of the call, he finds himself on rethinking the paths his life has taken and decides to share the whole thing with his partner Thayer.

Jack and Ned's friendship actually goes back to before they were even born. Their parents were next-door neighbors, and their moms were pregnant with them at the same time. In fact, Jack and New were born just hours apart, though, technically their birthdays are on different days. As they grew up, they were pretty much inseparable, even as Jack became popular and Ned remained a little shy.

As they headed into their teen years, the two guys found their relationship heading in new directions, and by the time they were in college, they were roommates ... and something a little more. Of course, Jack was never really willing to admit that he was gay, and he could not say the "l" word. Upon arriving at college, Jack and Ned met Andy, a hippy who lived in their dorm who introduced them to drugs and the alternative lifestyle that made the '60's so different from the earlier decades.

The trio would find themselves becoming major parts of each others lives, even as they could hurt each other as much as they helped each other. They would find themselves living through the battlefront in Vietnam, the San Francisco seen during the Harvey Milk period, New York just as AIDS was coming to the fore to devastate the gay community (and touched their lives) in so many ways.

Ned, Jack, and Andy would segue through relationships with each other and with other men. They end up working as porn stars, therapists, soldiers, teachers, and in government.

The relationships between these three men are really at the core of the story, and it is in the strength of the characters that this novel really excels. Ford brings his characters to life in a way that allows the reader to care for them even as they are imperfect and don't always make the best decisions. In fact, it is this realism that makes them more interesting and real.

Like William J. Mann, I have always thought Ford has done an incredible job of drawing complex characters and allowing them to live and breath on their own. The reader can identify with some of the characters will still really being interested in other, he or she may not end up liking. With either author, I find myself trolling around for time to squeeze in some more reading because I don't want to put the books down.

On an interesting note, I did learn a lot about some aspects related to the Vietnam War (like the fact that Nixon announced a new type of draft just before Thanksgiving and what it might have been like to serve as a mortician in the field) as well as what it might have been like for the generation of gay men before me.

As an aside ... I totally love the paintings the publisher uses for the covers of Ford's novels. They are produced by artist Steve Walker. They just have a photograph feel to them while also capturing a level of raw emotions in the people in the shots. If I could afford them, I would definitely be buying some to decorate the house.