This story begins in Dropwater, (fictional) Montana, where Curtis Trueheart, a traveling musician, 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.

While vacationing on Outhere Island, Curtis stumbles through a time dimension transportal and lands in the Beyond, a timeless zone created by genetic scientist Dr. Joy, who is devoted to improving the human species.

Curtis falls in love with Dr. Li Shuan, a tall crystalline woman from the future. He finds himself torn between his love for Li, and his life of playing music in the year 1996. Despite the pull of his heart he returns only to loose his life in a freak accident. In time, he becomes Li's companion in her future world, in the village of Duachi, by the Golden Sea.