 Howard Brackett (Kevin Kline) is a high school teacher in a small town in Indiana with everything going for him; a nice job, an attractive fiancé named Emily (Joan Cusack) and respect from everyone. Everything changes in one night when a former high school student of his, named Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon), now a famous actor living in Hollywood, makes an acceptance speech after receiving an Academy Award for his portrayal of a homosexual army soldier and  outs  Howard Brackett as his inspiration for his role. The media circus immediately begins as Howard desperately tries keep his life from falling apart by protesting that he is not gay and that the whole thing with Cameron s speech is a simple misunderstanding. While most of the townspeople want to believe Howard, Peter Malloy (Tom Selleck), an openly gay TV reporter who arrives in town to cover the story, suspects that the teacher is in denial.