It was a time of rebellion and rejection; a time of striking out for independence until time itself, as always, rebels. For a number of the dropouts who have escaped to this ski town playground, confronting the magical realism of midlife change becomes confounding. Rio Corda, among the most resistant, is an engineer-cum-bartender ski bum and descendent of conquistadors who is compelled by a pregnancy, abandonment, time travel, and a re-education by a nine-year-old cowgirl to come to terms with love. In her own way, Sarah Wendelin must travel beyond her history with parents, jobs, religion, previous relationships and restlessness to determine what she wants with Rio or without him. Their lives are peopled by an assortment of others seeking to maintain life as a retreat defined by forever. These include Quiet Bill Silver, a taciturn philosopher and erstwhile rival for Sarah's affections; Margo Manning, a cynical rape victim hiding out behind her camera; Wally the Bear, an alternate state of reality incarnate; and Jeep McCoy, a messiah who forsakes the mountain holdouts for the flatlands of the future. Come uncap the disconcerting spirits of transformation with them and their cohorts amidst the beguiling environs of the Snowdragon Bar.