Spider Robinson is one of the more unique science fiction writers out there, and this book is no disappointment. The time is 1973, and the place is the wilderness of Nova Scotia where a group of Americans has formed a commune free from the modern world. One day, however, they are paid a visit by Rachel, a beautiful woman from the future, on a one-way mission to collect data on the past of the human race. There is much more involved, and Robinson is adept at using the situation to illuminate the absurdities of the human race. There is a fairly graphic homosexual interlude that gave me the collywobbles, but it works within the context of the book. ( )