Junior police constable Karl-Heinz has just been given a telling-off by his boss for allegedly botching a major operation against car thieves. Now he senses an opportunity to rehabilitate himself when a gang of high-flying highway speeders catch his eye during a traffic check. Karl-Heinz decides to go undercover with the gang and gets to know their colorful characters. He soon takes more pleasure in the illegal speeding than is good for his health and career.

It is 1984. Frank is a determined English teenager who runs away from high school to find an alternative gay lifestyle in Amsterdam. He finds a home and a job at the "House of Boys", a bar-cum-brothel run by a strict Madame who has an eye for what his punters crave. Frank works his way up from barman to on-stage dancer and falls in love with some of his housemates, Jake. The first intimations of what is described as 'the gay cancer', casts a long shadow over Frank's tight-knit group of friends. Yet despite the troubles that cloud the hopes and dreams of young Frank, his perseverance, along with support from a willing doctor, will carry him through.

How can we live in a world that is heading for disaster—or, better yet, escape it? Between existential questions and formal research, this autofictional essay is full of sincerity, humor, and wisdom.