"Time is the school in which we learn/Time is the fire in which we burn."

- Delmore Schwartz

A young couple finds themselves hip-deep in sex, social change, the Arts, Civil Rights, politics, warfare, and - ultimately - children, as they negotiate the paths of self-discovery spanning over fifty years and four continents.

In the twelve stories of Richard Scharine's The Past We Step Into, we experience the America we remember, the America we want to forget, and the America we dream of achieving.