What would happen if Steven decided to take a break from his road trip and take up a job as a fire lookout in the Wyoming wilderness? What if instead of being born in 1950, Henry was born in 1981? What if there were two fire lookouts at the Two Forks Lookout? (Or, if Steven and Henry applied for the job at Two Forks and they both get it by accident.)

At first, he thought taking this summer job would be fun, an escape from his shitty life… the idea of spending the entire summer watching for fires that were likely never to happen was appealing, but an hour and a half into the hike, Elliott began to regret his decision.

It's the summer of 1992, and Marinette Dupain-Cheng has not had a great run of luck. The first half of the year took almost everything she cared about, and so when she gets the chance to run away - to spend a quiet summer as a fire lookout in Boise National Forest, far away from home - she takes it. It's there she encounters a charming young man, and an intense mystery.