Largely consists of letters written to Adrian Robert Ford from men who fear discovery of their sexuality and who prefer discretion. Some of these men are married, others are well known as straight in their communities, many are from the South, and many are from small towns. Some of the letters are simple introductions and most discuss some aspect of sexuality or gay life. Several of the letters include photographs of the writers. Correspondents include an English professor from Chicago, a World War II veteran, an African American man, and an Asian American man. There is also an 11-page handwritten letter from Tom Woodward, the founder of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) at Purdue University. Another letter includes a detailed report on a Mattachine Society ball held in Chicago in 1972.

The first letter in the collection is a copy of a letter Ford wrote as a college student in Indianapolis, in which he shares a physical description of himself, his low college grades, his solitary home life in upstate New York, plans to visit Chicago, and personal interests. He closes the letter with a characterization of himself as an "intellectual who desires to share love with diverse persons" along with two phone numbers to contact him.