The Guthries live in Fairbanks, Alaska. Mary Lee is a writer and artist; Dale is a paleontologist and biology professor at the University of Alaska. As the local specialist on Ice Age fossils, Dale is often asked to look at bones and other interesting finds. But Walter Roman's discovery of a Pleistocene mummy in the permafrost of his gold mining operation was extraordinary. Dale and Mary Lee excavated the mummy, a steppe bison they named Blue Babe, which is now mounted and displayed at the University of Alaska Museum.

Ice Age mummies are uncommon. Blue Babe is the first North American frozen mummy to be excavated and studied in detail, and scientific work with the bison followed a number of surprising turns. This booklet was conceived during an early revision of Dale's much longer manuscript about Blue Babe. It is the nutshell version: from Mr. Roman's goldmine to the museum display, looking at Paleolithic art, lion skulls, death and detective work; a story about a steppe bison and time.