The film follows the story of Duncan, a fourteen-year-old misfit farm boy trying to fill the void and alleviate the numbness left by his mothers passing. Unable to let her go quite yet, Duncan mimics his dead mother. He talks in her voice at the dinner table and wears her fur coat to bed. Edgar, Duncans distant sixty-year-old father, doesnt understand the strange manifestations of his sons mourning. Why cant Duncan grieve like a normal person? Macho mate Perry Foley, who has it physically even harder on his dads farm, usually comforts Duncan and defends his wimpiness to their cocky ruffian mates Travis, Scotty and Brent. But although clearly attracted to gentle Duncan himself, the socially unacceptable suggestion of sissy homosexuality makes Perry over-react and turn on his friend.