When four Massachusetts high school classmates move to New York to try to break through, they're penniless, lost, and driven only by their friendship and ambition. There's kind Willem, an aspiring actor; the bright, sometimes cruel painter JB, who wants to make it in the art world; troubled architect Malcolm, unhappy at a top firm; and the aloof, brilliant, mysterious lawyer Jude, around whom their lives revolve... A Little Life is a story about sexual orientation, abuse and self-harm, about love and sacrifice, cruelty and the inability to fight fate.