fast forward to 1977: anita bryant is organizing the "save our children" campaign in florida to rid the country of homosexuals and repeal a florida law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. alan's book publisher, who previously decided the timing wasn't right, publishes alan's book, "the straight truth", against alan's wishes, listing the author as "anonymous." the book is used to fuel homophobia by the christian right, and it threatens to erode tommy's work with his group out loud, whose aim is to change the public's negative views of gays. when word is leaked about who actually wrote the book, tommy leaves alan. alan is also fired from his job at a newspaper. with nowhere to go and no job, he quickly becomes a "kept boy" of peter, who himself is closeted.