A small town, with a series of paths running behind many of the houses.  Given the right set of circumstances, a person can be running on the path and then be transported in time.  This happens to Josh twice, the first time involving a dog and the second time where Josh himself is transported back 15 minutes.  What really gets Josh going on the time travel notion is the appearance of a strange orphan girl named Constance, who claims to be from 1908.  Based on her manners and Josh's own experience he believes her and tries to help her return to her time.  This obsession starts to interfere with Josh's home-life, especially with his wife, who feels that Josh is ignoring all that is important to him based on "fantasy."

Josh's life was never that great to begin with.  His brother was brain damaged and his brother's friend was drowned in a swimming pool in their teens.  Apparently, it was because they were locked in a trunk and thrown into the pool by the future Town Sheriff.  Josh grew close to the drowned boy's sister and later married her.  Because of the accident, she decides to be the doctor that her brother was "supposed" to be.  Josh himself seems to be an unmotivated person who rarely has a job.  He is constantly embarrassed by his brain damaged brother, who is homeless and keeps trying to get into their childhood house, which was long ago sold off by the bank.

Josh's helping of Constance also sets in motion a chain of events that will put his daughter at risk and probably land Josh in jail for life.  This forces Josh to travel back in time to try to set things right.

This was a highly enjoyable book and I would have given it the full five stars except for several paradoxes, which seemed to occur in the book.  Also, the book screams out for a sequel at the end.