This story is set is the 70’s in a town called Slater, Kansas and involves a girl and a boy whose lives could not be more different. Stella wants to be a space engineer but once her mother dies, and her brother runs off to live in Red Sun, the nearby hippie compound, she feels compelled to stay to help her father and sister. Galliard grew up in Red Sun but leaves it after losing the Artist in Residence position that he feels he deserved. Stella is dealing with her disappointment and grief; Galliard is dealing with living in “Outside” in the mainstream society where his Tourette syndrome isn’t accepted the same way as it was in the compound.

And then strange things begin to happen in Slater, from red rain to eyeless snakes, and the town puts the blame on the Red Sun. The Red Sun returns blame to the Outside. Meanwhile, Stella and Galliard meet and strike up an unlikely friendship.

The book is filled with references to ’70’s music and culture, and reminds me somewhat of The Twilight Zone. It was an enjoyable book, although the ending is somewhat anti-climatic.