Haunted by past trauma, high school history teacher Tom Smith has spent most of his life in small town Texas making sure he's stuffed as far deep into the closet as he can go. But when he's drafted by an overzealous colleague into being the assistant director for a controversial high school performance of Rent, and finds himself entering his first serious relationship (with the kind and attractive Kevin) since his college years, his hard-won security starts to fall apart. More than a romance, this book looks at small town morality and controversies, secondary effects of homophobia on people who aren't even gay (as told through the story of Kevin's daughter), and what kind of risks are worth taking. It is also sometimes a difficult read, at turns frustrating, heartbreaking, and encouraging. The secret of Tom's past is not revealed until near the end, but sheds a lot of light on the rest of the book. Which meant I then had to re-read it, didn't I? Great book.