THE LAST RITES OF JOE MAY chronicles the last days in the life of Joe May, an aging, short money hustler who always believed that a glorious destiny awaited him around every corner. Now in his sixties, his health failing and resources dwindling, Joe is presented with one last shot at greatness.

In the late 1970s, when a mentally handicapped teenager is abandoned, a gay couple takes him in and becomes the family he's never had. But once the unconventional living arrangement is discovered by authorities, the men must fight the legal system to adopt the child.