For five years, Psychiatrist David McWhirter and psychologist Andrew Mattison conducted in-depth interviews with male couples whose relationships have lasted from one to thirty-seven years. The study documents how the relationships between two men develop and are sustained. While conducted as an objective study, the book is written in an engagingly anecdotal style. Men talk about their loves, hates, fears, and dreams. They also discuss their family lives, early relationships (in some cases, marriage), hiding one's sexual identity, and coming out.