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- Arthur is the youngest son of a rich family. His parents don't pay a lot of attention to him; his three older brothers don't like him all that much either; and the world of old money is just too harsh for him in general. This is compounded by the fact that he's friendless.
- When he's 14, he spends a summer at his maternal grandparents' Vermont estate and meets Al Jones, the cook's son, who is a couple years younger (but taller and stronger). Al is very friendly and determined to crack Arthur's cautious shell, which he eventually does through being very sincere and fun. It's quite a contrast to what Arthur's used to, and in a few short months, he grows to adore Al.
- Al tries to teach Arthur baseball. It doesn't go well.
- In return (and to avoid further physical exertion), Arthur teaches Al card games using the deck he always carries around. He regrets it when Al quickly gets good at poker.
- Al would always try to sneak food from the kitchen to give some to Arthur, even though it makes Al's mom Mara mad, and Arthur loves him for it.
- One time, Arthur lets slip that he likes having someone who's like a little brother for once, since he's the youngest in his family, but Al does not let that fly. He says he doesn't see Arthur like that at all and insists that Arthur shouldn't either. Arthur's disheartened at first, thinking that Al doesn't like him or look up to him enough to be able to see him as a big brother-like figure, but then Al steps forward and pecks him on the cheek. He then tells a flustered Arthur that if being "brothers" is anything like what Arthur has told him, he definitely doesn't want that.
- Al is very upset about Arthur going back home to England at the end of the summer, so Arthur leaves him a card from his deck to remember him by: the queen of spades. Al is touched but points out that Arthur won't be able to use the deck to play anymore if there's a missing card. However, Arthur says that's okay; Al's the only person he wants to play with anyway.
- A decade later, Arthur goes back to the States to attend a party he was invited to in place of his grandparents. There, he meets Alfred Drucker, Boston blue blood. And he kept the card.
- In the present, the romance is all about Alfred, tired business major, putting on a veneer of seductiveness and charisma to cover up his pure-hearted romantic ineptness while Arthur is not impressed and keeps calling back to the past.
- Arthur is also not friendless anymore. During his uni years, he met Francis, and now he (plus his two boyfriends who are both also weirdly invested in Arthur's love life) give chaotic romantic advice.
- Eventually, Francis' boyfriends (Antonio and Gilbert) decide to bypass Arthur entirely and try to make the romance happen from Alfred's side of the equation.
- So, basically: on one side, you've got a suave but messy French bisexual trying to impart philosophies of sensuality to an extremely introverted English gay while, on the other side, you've got an exmilitary East German BDSM expert and an ex-Catholic priest Spanish semi-retired singer/actor on a mission from god or the devil to make sure their American Psycho gets that ass.