Lonely women's history professor Hannah Stern walks into her local lesbian bar one winter night, seeking love advice from her old friend and bartender, Isabel. "Women's history will be my date this year!" Hannah raises her glass in sarcastic tribute, resigned to life as a scholar, but her remark sets in motion a wild, sexy-smart romp through time. Much to her astonishment, Hannah soon finds herself meeting up with the actual figures and foremothers she assigns her college students to learn about. She's caught in a time-travel vortex: one that seemingly emanates from Sappho's Bar and Grill.

What are these figures of the past trying to tell Hannah? What wisdom do they share? Given the opportunity to ask her feminist role models questions about their lives and viewpoints, what will Hannah say? More importantly, will she find romance with women who loved women in the past? Or will she take a chance on her old friend Isabel, whose drinks and potions seem to hold the secret of time travel itself?