Merriton is twelve hours away from San Francisco. Some people come here to ski. Some people come here to get away. Some people come here to stay. Sierra and Random McCain came here to escape the craziness of the Dot Com world in San Francisco. They bought the Bowen House despite the fact that no one has lived there for more than two years since old Artimus died. Sierra thought that two years would be enough to cure Random of his malaise, but it might too much for her.