Joe Allston the retired literary agent of Stegner s National Book Award-winning novel The Spectator Bird returns in this disquieting and keenly observed novel. Scarred by the senseless death of their son and baffled by the engulfing chaos of the 1960s Allston and his wife Ruth have left the coast for a California retreat. And although their new home looks like Eden it also has serpents: Jim Peck a messianic exponent of drugs yoga and sex; and Marian Catlin an attractive young woman whose otherworldly innocence is far more appealing--and far more dangerous.