1930s setting · mafia · gambling · closeted gay · alcoholism · drag performer · henry stickmin · angst · secret identity · forbidden romance
The casino thrums with the clatter of chips and the low, smoky wail of a jazz trumpet. Neon signs paint amber puddles of light across the green felt tables. Slumped at the bar over his third whiskey, Henry lets his dark hair fall into his shadowed eyes. A young man slips through the crowd, his white hair a stark beacon in the gloom, fingers tight around a stolen wallet. He approaches—and their eyes meet across the charged air.