egins October 7, 1960, on the campus of the University of North Dakota when Jeannie meets Jim, a junior with his feet planted squarely in mid-air. Jeannie and Jim's budding relationship blooms but is nearly torpedoed the following summer when Jeannie meets a man in Wyoming who has everything a girl might dream of, including a ski boat, Jeannie's one absolute requirement for a future husband. He asks her to marry him. Jeannie declines in favor of returning to UND to obtain her college degree.

Back on campus, Jim continues his pursuit of Jeannie's affection, and for some unexplainable reason she falls in love with the rascal. Jim never proposes, there is no engagement ring, and she faces a year-long separation of 2000 miles after Jim graduates and moves to California. Nonetheless, Jeannie agrees to a wedding date of June 19, 1964. She shows up a day late. Nine people attend the ceremony the following day.

The newlyweds' honeymoon is a 75-cent cab ride to their new home, a sparsely furnished one bedroom apartment with rent prepaid for half a month. Neither of them has a car, a job, a bank account, and certainly not a ski boat or any idea of what the future might bring. How will Jeannie deal with what life has in store for her as the years unfold?