A group of interesting people living around a lovely lake in the Sierra foothills of California form a storytelling circle. They meet monthly at different mountain homes and have different narrators telling stories, some about themselves, some made-up, short, long, funny, serious, sad or happy. Some are poems, some essays. This goes on for three years, 1982 to 1985.

Though most of the Lake Dwellers don't know each other in the beginning, they become good friends over the years, some even more than that . The little community of Springlake is also prospering.