16-year-old Dedee Truitt runs away from home. She is pregnant by her ex-boyfriend, Randy Cates. Not revealing her pregnancy, Dedee eventually moves in with her much older half-brother Bill, a
gay teacher in a conservative,
suburban community in
St. Joseph County, Indiana. Although he is living with Matt, Bill still mourns the loss of his previous partner, Tom, who died of AIDS some time ago. Bill maintains a friendship with Tom's younger sister, Lucia, who idolized her brother. Dedee seduces Matt, then tricks him into believing he has impregnated her. They elope, leaving Bill and Lucia to track them down. Bill and Lucia find Dedee and Matt in
Los Angeles, only to discover Dedee has stolen Tom's ashes and is holding them for ransom. Randy also finds her; they inform Matt that they are taking the ashes and moving away. They escape but soon get into an argument that leads to Dedee's accidentally shooting Randy. She and Matt escape to
Canada. Lucia and Bill have a falling out after she implies that Tom died as a result of having gay sex. Despondent, she has a one-night stand with Sheriff Carl Tippett, who had previously made unsuccessful romantic overtures to her. Lucia later discovers that she is pregnant. Bill eventually tracks down Matt and Dedee. She goes into labor and Bill accompanies her into the delivery room. After giving birth to her son, Dedee returns Tom's ashes to him, apologizing for her actions in the past year. Dedee ends up serving time in prison, leaving her son in Bill's care while she's incarcerated. After a few months, she moves back in with him, while Matt goes traveling, and Lucia gives birth to her own child. Eventually, Dedee decides that her son would be better off with Bill, who is now dating Dedee's parole officer. Dedee sarcastically concludes that sex is precisely the opposite of what people should want, leading as it does to kids, disease or, worst of all, relationships. At the end of the film, the vignettes of the various caring relationships among the characters show the
opposite of superficial sexual gratification. ==Cast==