Alternate-cover edition for this ASIN can be found here Daniel doesn't have it easy, being a gay, Jewish used car salesman in 1990s West Virginia. Nick, Daniel's deeply closeted boss, institutes a humiliating office ritual, "eating the snake." Daniel comes to understand Nick's frustrated self-hate, and admire Nick's ability to withstand emotional pain. Doing an end-run around homophobia and around Nick's dictatorial control of the office, Daniel hatches an erotic plan to rescue both himself and Nick from lonely misery.