Based on Thomas Mallon's novel of the same name, this drama contains elements of love story and political thriller, chronicling the volatile romance between two very different men who meet in the shadow of McCarthy-era Washington. Hawkins Fuller is a handsome, charismatic man who maintains a well-paid behind-the-scenes job in the political circle. Hawkins has always avoided emotional entanglements until he met Tim Laughlin, a young man full of idealism and religious beliefs. The two began their romance at a time when Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn declared war on "subversives" and "sexual deviants", ushering in one of the darkest periods in 20th century American history. Over the course of 40 years, Hawkins and Tim intersected in various occasions - Vietnam War protests in the 1960s, drug-fueled disco hedonism in the 1970s, and the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, while facing many obstacles from the world and themselves.