Sent to a "therapeutic community" for autism aged eleven, Todd Aaron is now in his fifties. A joyous man who re-reads the encyclopedia compulsively, he is unnerved by the sudden arrival of a menacing new member of staff and a disruptive, brain-injured roommate. His equilibrium is further worsened by Martine, a new resident who has romantic intentions and convinces him to go off his drugs to feel "normal" again. Undone by these pressures, Todd attempts an escape to return "home" to his younger brother and to the childhood of his dreams.

Written astonishingly in the first-person voice of an autistic, adult man, Best Boy has unforgettable characters including Todd's beloved mother and a care worker named Raykene.