Castle Rock, Maine. Scott Carey has been steadily losing weight. He doesn't look different, and he weighs the same in his clothes and out of them, no matter how heavy they are. Scott doesn't want to be poked and prodded; he just wants someone else to know, and he trusts Doctor Bob Ellis. At home, Scott is engaged in an escalating battle with the lesbians next door whose dog regularly drops his business on Scott's lawn. One of the women is friendly; the other, cold as ice. They are trying to launch a new restaurant, but the people of Castle Rock want no part of a gay married couple, and the place is in trouble. As Scott tries to help the couple, the annual foot race and the mystery of Scott's affliction bring out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others.