Flashpoint

Two-time Lambda Literary Award winner Forrest ( Curious Wine ) takes seven incisively drawn characters from the early stages of the gay-rights movement to 1991, when a crucial California bill prohibiting job discrimination against gays is awaiting the governor's signature. Lesbians Pat, Averill and Angela, along with Brad and his lover, Warren, are waiting in Pat's cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains for Donnelly, the dedicated and self-assured lesbian activist who has touched their lives, and for Donnelly's lover, Querida.

The group is rife with tension. Brad, once married to Donnelly, and Pat, once Donnelly's lover, dislike each other. Averill, a renowned pro golfer, feels that the others don't understand her need for keeping her sexual orientation secret, while Warren is jealous of Brad's past with the fabled Donnelly. After Donnelly and Querida arrive, they all reminisce about their childhoods, families, lovers and various acts of "coming out." When the bill is vetoed, Donnelly makes a request of each of the others. By the novel's satisfying end, some at the cabin have changed, a love affair has begun and, on an upbeat note, Bill Clinton has been elected President. Though heavy with politically correct proselytizing, this is a clear and strong picture of a gay community.