This story begins in Curtis Trueheart's home town of Dropwater, Montana (purely fictional) where he graduated from high school. After giving a concert for the August Arts Festival, he meets Alecia, Randy and their son Luka, who invite him to their home on Outhere island, in the Salish Sea. On Outhere Island he trips into a time dimension transportal and lands in the Beyond, a timeless zone created by Dr. Joy, a genetic engineer devoted to improving the human species. Many experimental species live in the Beyond, such as mixed breeds of humans and different animals, dogs, cats reptiles birds, etc. All quite friendly. While in the Beyond, Curtis falls in love with Dr. Li Shuan, a crystalline based woman from the future, and is torn between his new love and returning to his old life as a traveling musician. Despite the pull of his heart, Curtis returns to the year 1996 where he loses his life in a freak accident. In time, he becomes Li's partner in her hometown, the village of Duachi, by the Golden Sea.