Set in Boulder, Colorado, in 1979, Diamond Summer honestly portrays a bygone era of climbing freedom in America. Boulder and environs were a climbing smorgasborg where a climber could develop to his or her potential just as the protagonist Tim does in the book. His schooling takes place in the legendary Eldorado Canyon and over a summer his skills grow until he and his climbing partner Max are ready to attempt a free-climb of the East Face of Long’s Peak, a.k.a. The Diamond. Will they pull it off?