Tamara Johanssen"s life has taken an unplanned turn:With help from her successful sister, she moves to the rural crossroads of Dustin in upstate New York, where she opens a modest art gallery.Dustin, population 39, is small in size but large in personality.Tamara meets Boz, a rich, married man who becomes her friend and lover; Donna and Iris of the "womanart" factory, specializing in strawberry potholders; Detering, the snoopy postman; Shirley Girt of Girt Real Estate, who calls Dustin "the up-and-coming arts town"; and the Doctor, whose shockingly amusing secret is uncovered, and kept, by Tamara after his death.She cautiously engages with the hamlet"s oddballs and eccentrics, eventually learning important personal lessons from their determination, humor, vitality, and heartbreak.These unlikely relationships give Tamara the strength to make peace with her traumatic past-and to finally "stay put" in her present.