The time is 1952. The place is a dusty western hamlet called Fort Appelby, a quiet town with old memories—of Indian raids and land grabs, or passions and scandal—memories that still haunt the living. 1952 is the year the polio epidemic sweeping America finally reaches this tiny town—destroying lives, upsetting established ways, creating an extraordinary need for human closeness. Time and Place is a stunning novel with the quality and feel of The Last Picture Show and the nostalgic pull of American Graffiti.