Ranger Will McManis patrols an empty Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone, V-J day and his mother's death on his mind. His grandson, five-year-old Chuck, will leave soon, too, off to faraway Denver, a brand-new life, leaving a huge hole. Will thinks he knows all kinds of change. But out among the geysers with Chuck, something happens to dwarf it all, and nothing will ever be the same again.