A Nebraskan family reunion couldn't seem more backwards to a gay Californian teenager. If Ryder had his way, he'd choose a moment just like this to come out, the bigger the scene the better. For his mother's sake however, Ryder agrees to keep quiet, save parading around the picnic in his most audacious pair of short-shorts. Ryder's antics raise dubious eyebrows from his hardened cowboy relatives, but 9-year-old Molly can't get enough. She follows her cool California cousin everywhere. After lunch, they walk to the barn to look for a bird's nest in the rafters. Their strange encounter, and whatever happened while the two escaped their family's watchful eyes, makes Ryder the sudden target of suspicion, and places him at the center of a long buried family secret.