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Four twenty-something friends meet up in Truro Coffeehouse located in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. They have known each other since grade school and have been meeting twice yearly to keep up with each other. Tahn is an African-American into modern technology and X-games, while Beck is a red-haired Irish Catholic studying theology. Samantha or "Sam" is studying psycho-biology on the premed track at UCLA, while Gianna or "Gia" is a sociology major at Brown. As the book opens, they reluctantly share a strange YouTube video anonymously showing up on their phones, showing them all together in a pre-historic setting. They playback these videos simultaneously and are suddenly shifted back into Ghana as it was in 20,000 BCE during the hunter-gatherer stage of civilization. They then find themselves back at the coffeehouse and discuss what happened. This happens through four more consecutive periods, ranging from the Agricultural period to the Information Age of 1993.
The plot is relatively simple and mostly a platform for the characters to air their opinions. While the themes are vivid and relevant, the dramatic elements seem to be subsumed to the message—charity and harmony instead of organized religion based on fear. Each of the four characters' personalities, proclivities, and skills are developed in each chapter. It soon becomes clear that Beck is the single religious person who finds his monotheistic beliefs challenged again and again, especially by Gia, who has definite objections to the hierarchical, mythic, and controlling aspects of organized religion. The science versus religion debate is taken up with fervor, and Beck remains isolated and obstinate in his belief in Jesus and the Bible. Meanwhile, the others voice their concerns over the Abrahamic faith's failure to change with the times and provide meaningful answers to life and existence. This book may appeal to those who enjoy religious and philosophical debates.