Behind the brass gates of Orchard Grove, the manicured lawns and sprawling estates conceal a darkness that even the California sun can't bleach away.

For Elliot Gray, preservation has always meant holding the world at arm's length in this ruthless social ecosystem—a delicate dance of concealment, of desires pressed so tightly beneath the surface they might never breathe. But something is awakening, a metamorphosis beyond boundary or restraint.