From the underbelly of Boston's officially sanctioned red-light district—The Combat Zone—to a neo-Nazi compound in the secluded mountains of New Hampshire, gay cross-dressing sleuth Cody Harper hunts a murderer. Cody is a man who enjoys wielding a whip as much as slipping into a silk chemise. When unrequited love interest Stephen Cross tells Cody about the death threats he's received, Cody resorts to all the tricks in his make-up bag, including his drag persona, Desdemona, to protect his friend. A pious presidential candidate and members of an underground group called "My America" stand in Cody's way in this thrill ride of suspense and mystery.