The Mayor of Oak Street

In the 1960s Midwestern boy and Boy Scout Nathan delivers newspapers and mows lawns. Nathan uses his cover to move about yards and sneak into the homes of his neighbors uncovering their secrets.In high school one of the local misfits introduces him to diet pills which help him overcome his shyness. In an amphetamine high he meets Cindy who he hopes will steer him along the morally straight path of the Boy Scout Oath he swore to.Nathan is infatuated with a young doctor down the street Nicholas (Dr. B) who embodies all the things his mother would love him to be. On one of his secret forays in Dr. Bs house he hides in a closet and witnesses his idol having sex with man while the wife is out of town. Dr. Bs affair leads to tragedy forcing the doctor to leave town.At college in New Orleans Nathan meets a group of rebels and expands his drug use. Marc a bisexual Cajun charmer becomes Nathans first male sexual experience but promptly leaves town.Nathan has a chance encounter with Dr. B who has moved to New Orleans. Dr. B is in a relationship but still closeted. Frustrated by Dr. Bs cool reaction Nathan goes on a six-month binge of amphetamines and anonymous sex. On one night of debauchery he overdoses and ends up in the emergency ward.Nathans near death rallies Dr. B and Nathans other friends to force him into rehab. On the way home from work Nathan witnesses the gruesome aftermath of the 1973 Up Stairs Lounge fire that devastated the gay population of New Orleans. As a result of the fire Dr. Bs live-in boyfriend leaves town freeing Dr. B to explore his feelings for Nathan.