1933 Sixteen-year-old Erik Desmond Taylor and his mother are terrorized by a sadistic, abusive father and husband in rural Tennessee. One day, Albert Taylor almost kills Erik, and from that point on, everything changes for the young man. Taken in by the town doctor, Erik learns about love and acceptance and begins to think that he is not the worthless being his father always told him he was. 1938 Erik Desmond, the famous artist, now lives in New York City. His life has drastically changed, but not in the way he thought it would. Events in Tennessee prompted him to leave that state and start over, but his childhood still torments him as he tries to put it behind him and once again find love and acceptance--from himself and others.