Colin Collins only looks like a boy. His mind, however, could only be matched by the greatest thinkers in history.

Using strange forces, he is creating an entirely new world from the scarred landscape of the American depression. His major findings are in the brave new world of California, and his greatest accomplishment in a place which may or may not exist.

Colin launches his life-consuming inquiry with a bizarre and engaging band of friends: A pioneering pilot, Marty McCord; the lusty Madame Bovary: his passionate companion Jesus Rappaport y Casafuerte: the beautiful but very different girls Judith Oliphant and Pretty Quinlan; his confused parents; and especially with the giant Boris, his cerebral twin who would one day share his destiny.