In Timothy Murphy's Getting Off Clean, the one thing that Eric Fitzpatrick wants is to escape—both from his family and the racially tense town in which he lives. The only son of an Italian-Irish family in a working class suburb of Boston, he intends to go away to college and leave his old life far behind. But all his plans are set askew when he meets Brooks, a mysterious, wealthy, black student at a local prep school. As their relationship grows ever deeper and more complicated, Eric must come to terms not only with his family and community, but with his warring ambitions and desires.