The play revolves around eight gay men who gather for three summer weekends at a lakeside house in Dutchess County, New York, where they relax, reflect, and plan for survival in an era plagued by AIDS. Love! Valour! Compassion! won the 1995 Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for best Play, along with several other awards. McNally later adapted the script for the 1997 film of the same name.