Eric Massa is new in the town of Washington, DC. Born in Charleston, Massa is a naïve, doe-eyed southern boy who don't mean no harm to no one. Now a freshman in Congress, representing the good people of New York, he's going to old Washington to change the way things are done. He's got a bright future and there's nothing to stand in his way!
He meets the attractive and charismatic White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Rahm is taken with the young Congressmen and the two are very soon inseparable. Rep. Massa is struck by the little things: the way Rahm brings gifts for the kids when he stops over to the house; the way he plays catch with Massa's son Justin as if Justin were his own son; the way he warmly embraces Massa when he leaves for work in the morning, secretly placing a red rose on the pillow for Massa to wake up to.
Massa loves his new job. He's really making a difference. He feels good about his relationship with his constituents. He feels good about his relationship with America. But most importantly, he feels good about his relationship with Rahm. So he ignores Rahm's rare but surprising bursts of jealous anger. There was the waiter at the restaurant who looked down Massa's shirt. The cute congressional gym towel boy who bought Massa that suggestive birthday card. Massa's lunch with former President Clinton.
When Rahm knocks a coffee cup out of a staffer's hand, Massa tells himself it's just because Rahm is so passionate about public service. When Rahm punches Glenn - the attractive young guy next door whose hobbies include no shirts, grease, and carrying stuff - for the flirtatious conversation he and Massa had over the backyard fence, Massa tells himself Rahm is just the jealous type. When Glenn's dog Buster ends up dead - with the letters "Fili" added in blood before "Buster" on the dog's collar - Massa tells himself Rahm could never be involved in something like that. Just look at how great he is with the kids. Then Massa remembers what Rahm yelled at Glenn. "I'll filibuster your ass!"
Massa now fears not only for his own safety but for the safety of his children. He goes to the police, but the police tell Massa without evidence there's nothing they can do. Massa is all alone. Rahm confronts Massa outside the police station, a hidden anger boiling beneath that sexy exterior. A shaking Massa tells Rahm everything is fine. Rahm's cold stare doesn't believe him, but he let's Massa go after a "kiss of death" on the forehead.
In Congress, President Obama's budget is up for debate. Massa can't let his personal life get in the way of the job the people chose him to do. Deep down, Massa knows he can't support this budget. It's his southern-grown, gut instincts. He publicly voices his criticism of Obama's budget, knowing how Rahm will react. Watching from a luxurious West Wing office, Rahm Emanuel hurls a TV across the room.
Massa's secretary has Rahm on line one. "Um, take a message," says Massa, quickly grabbing his things to leave for the day, hands trembling. Should he go to his car? No, Rahm would expect that. He got Massa that parking spot, after all. Massa makes his way to the congressional gym. Fearing he may look suspicious, Massa disrobes and hopes to be obscured by the steamy open showers. His heart is pounding as shadowy figures pass by the shower door. The door handle jiggles. Rahm Emanuel enters wearing nothing but a sinister smirk. Massa hides behind a short, dividing wall. "Eric, it's Rahm... I know you're in herrrrrrre. Come on out... I just wanna talk, baby. It's me, your Rahm-alama-ding-dong." Rahm's tone is the same he used to tuck Massa in at night.
Massa waits for the perfect moment, then chucks a bar of soap across the room, distracting Rahm long enough to make a break for it. Once Massa hits the door, Rahm is no longer fooled and gives chase. Rahm tackles Massa into a wall of lockers. Tears stream down the young representative's face. His back to the lockers, Massa reaches for anything he can get his hands on. A frame above him. He rips it off the wall and knocks Rahm over the head with it. It's a framed copy of the Declaration of Independence. Glass and liberty are everywhere. Rahm stumbles and Massa sprints for the door. A cut and disheveled Rahm Emanuel rises, naked and void of emotion like a T-1000. Massa hobbles down the Capital steps, running away from the job he loved so much, chased away by the son of Satan's spawn.
Massa collapses, hitting the bottom steps hard. He's dazed but now sees Rahm standing over him. "This ends now," says Emanuel. "It does," replies a stranger's voice. Suddenly Rahm is punched out by ... Glenn, the hunky next door neighbor? Glenn arrives with police, ready to take Rahm away. Glenn has been undercover for the last few years, investigating Emanuel. They were waiting for just the right time to bust him. Rahm is dragged away in cuffs, but not before one last creepy smile in Massa's direction. Rahm no longer has power over him. "You're filibustered," says Massa through gritted teeth.
Massa resigns from public service and retires to a family home down south. In the closing scene, Massa looks out the front door of a farmhouse on some rural plot of land. "Dinner!" yells Massa. His children Justin, Alexandra, and Richard come running up with baseball gloves and a bat. And close behind them... it's Glenn. They embrace passionately. Fade out.