What if the greatest punk rock legend who ever lived never actually disappeared?

When flamboyant music-history YouTuber Herb Bean uploads a documentary about the long-forgotten punk icon Mack Lasher, he expects a few thousand views—not a global obsession. Overnight, his video reignites decades-old conspiracies surrounding the outrageous frontman of the infamous band Gross Indecency, a queer rock revolutionary whose meteoric rise and mysterious disappearance left behind more questions than answers.

Then Herb receives an email from Mack himself.

What follows is the uncensored memoir of Lester Flatt—the man behind the myth. Raised in a deeply conservative New Jersey household, Lester fights against family, religion, homophobia, and the music industry to become one of the most controversial figures in underground rock. His journey through the explosive punk scenes of the 1980s and 1990s is filled with unforgettable characters, chaotic concerts, found family, disastrous romances, outrageous scandals, and a relentless determination to live authentically in a world determined to silence him.

By turns hilarious, heartbreaking, profane, and deeply human, Lying Flatt is a sweeping queer coming-of-age epic, a love letter to punk rock, and a satirical exploration of fame, identity, history, and the stories we choose to believe.

For readers who love sprawling character-driven novels, music history, unreliable narrators, and unapologetically queer storytelling, Lying Flatt delivers an unforgettable ride through sex, drugs, rebellion, heartbreak, and the enduring power of rock 'n' roll.

Some legends are born. Others lie their way into history.