John Donegal is thrust forward nearly four centuries into a future that is distinctly matriarchal. Males are the objects of interest and affection, but distinctly second-class citizens. Men can't vote and boys are excluded from the schools. Women are in control of EVERYTHING.
Though he is exasperated by his low status in this strange new world, he comes to understand that there are are breath-taking improvements wrought by the new female overclass: a permanent peace, warm communities, and a healthy environment. It's admirable, but what place is there in it for him? Nonetheless, this is his future; he can't go back again to the messy but comfortingly familiar past.
As Donegal sets out to fit into his new permanent present and to find love and purpose, he is brutally aware of the love he left behind, Jill. He realizes that Jill must have left something for him to find, some message that will prove she has forgiven him for his departure from her life. What he finds at the end is a message that leaves him forever changed.