As a disaffected LA teenager, Dennis becomes attracted to sexual transgression; he later meets a masochist, Henry, he'd once seen "dead" in apparent snuff photos. After moving to San Francisco, Dennis becomes obsessed with a gay porn actor, then succumbs to homicidal urges, first acting alone on a hustler, then "joining forces" with a like-minded straight couple. Dennis confesses to these deeds in a series of letters to two former friends--Julian and his younger brother Kevin--who, suspecting he's made everything up, travel to San Francisco to confront him.