Neil Bierker is a bit famous in New Halliday: he's the kid who jumped off the bypass when he was sixteen. At twenty-seven he’s a third grade teacher who manages his depression through running, boxing, and one night a week with Clem Robbins. He can keep everything else in his life together, as long as for a few hours every week it all falls away. Clem wants more than one night a week. The way he sees it, if one night’s good, wouldn’t more be better? But he’s had three years of good sex with a man twenty years younger than him and he’s not about to blow it by asking for more, even if he thinks it’s what both of them want. When Neil’s life begins to unravel, the last thing he wants to do is rely on Clem to keep him upright. Sometimes it takes a crisis to realize just how many people are on your side…and just what you’re willing to do to keep them there.