Two Chinese-American women scientists' reunion-vacation in Alaska transports them twenty-five-thousand years into the past, where they start a ski school and teach modern diplomacy to warring tribes of Cro-Magnon cavewomen.

SYNOPSIS:

I.

A snowy early spring Friday morning in Chicago, high-level astronomer Mimi Feng-Lin, 29, arrives at the North American Institute of Astronomical Research and Analysis (NAIARA) and receives urgent news of impending solar flares. She blows up at her boss, Hack Shackleton, 44, a pompous Australian mansplainer who’s also a former boyfriend. Despite the news requiring all hands on deck, Mimi goes ahead with vacation plans, flying to Portland to reunite with her former university roommate, Summer Xu Yang Ma, 32; they catch a flight north to Alaska.

Summer leaves behind her own caustic boss, Professor Sophie Svenson, 35, at the University of Portland Department of Paleontology, along with Craig, 25, a leering dolt of a delivery driver who thrives on coming up with new modes of sexual harassment.

Flying first-class on Mimi’s generous travel budget, Summer and Mimi reconnect and look forward to their upcoming adventure, ten days cross-country skiing and traveling by dogsled along the Yukon River near Fairbanks, a world away from the frustrations of the workplace. Mimi tells a flight attendant she just can’t wait to get way off the grid.

They take a small plane from Anchorage to Fairbanks piloted by Rhonda, 20s, their rugged, lusty trip organizer, who flies them through their first glimpse of the spectacular aurora borealis. Mimi gets a call from Hack demanding she return to headquarters, the solar flare and Coronal Mass Ejection has reached emergency status, expected to strike Earth’s northern hemisphere in less than ten hours, but Mimi hangs up on him, she’s already on vacation.

They arrive that afternoon at the trailhead near Fairbanks, Rhonda sets them up with a dogsled pulled by a team of eight Alaskan Huskies, and the two friends set out on their journey across the snowy frozen tundra. Early evening dusk descends, they make camp and commiserate about working life, already enjoying their getaway and snuggling with a pile of furry sled dogs.

At the solar flare monitoring station in Chicago, a scientist tells Hack the Coronal Mass Ejection is imminent, incoming in less than an hour; his team hustles to send out news releases notifying the media. Hanging out at a rustic bar near Fairbanks, Rhonda sees the TV news report warning of the incoming solar flare likely to drastically affect telcom networks and other crucial infrastructure.

At their campfire under the stars, Mimi and Summer observe the aurora borealis. Suddenly the sky blazes with the intensity of a vast plasma explosion, a flash of light and then all goes dark. They regain consciousness next morning to find no sled, no dogs, no skis, and mobile phones out of service. Knowing something strange has happened, they set out hiking east.

Back in Chicago, Hack and his team analyze the data from the previous evening’s solar flare, discovering evidence of an electro-magnetic pulse of astonishing power that struck with maximum force near Anchorage, coinciding with the magnetic field of the aurora borealis.

Mimi and Summer find a campfire, they hike all day and continue searching for other signs of life. In the evening, they finally encounter a group of strange-looking women and meet their leader, Oompka, 30s, a beefy, sexy Cavewoman. Stargazing with her professional astronomer skills, Mimi sees from the patterns of the visible constellations that the confluence of the previous night’s bizarre forces of nature has sent them 25,000 years back in time, to the late ice age of the Pleistocene Era, a time of Cro-Magnon cave dwellers who welcome the pair of alien visitors.

II.

The next day, Mimi and Summer get acquainted with cavewomen Oompka and Becky and their tribe, who are preparing to host a party. The scientists speculate that they’re hallucinating the situation, but there’s no escaping the bizarre reality that unfolds before their eyes, as a rival tribe of hot young Alpha Chicks, 20s, compete that evening in a fashion show hosted by the Cavewomen, featuring fur and animal skin garments, booze, music and dancing. The Alpha Chicks’ leader, Tasha, trades insults and attitude with Oompka and her girls, then a tribe of a dozen Neanderthal men, 30s, stumble in drunk to enjoy the festivities. Witnessing the rivalry and the ease with which the Alpha Chicks dominate the others, Mimi resolves to enjoy the planned vacation and also give the Cavewomen a competitive edge, by hatching a plan to craft some new skis.

Next morning, after encountering the Cavewomen’s pet giant porcupine, Mimi and Summer organize the tribe to make skis, poles and bindings, then give them their first ski lesson. The next day, they all go out on skis, hunting for caribou.

At the rustic roadhouse watering hole, Rhonda wakes up from sleeping off a drinking binge. Edgy bartender Cecilia, 25, gives her a message that although cell phones are down, Hack called on the land line, trying to track down the girls. Rhonda goes outside and finds the sled dogs all sitting next to her truck, evidence that Mimi and Summer are missing.

Oompka, Becky and the Cavewomen cook fresh meat and celebrate a successful hunt, Mimi and Summer are guests of honor; the strategy of stealthy hunting on skis is a game-changer. Conversation turns to the women’s shared desire for romance, they lament the paltry ratio of available men. How can they cajole the Neanderthals away from the Alpha Chicks?

Meanwhile, the Alpha Chicks enjoy a playful rock fight and party in their cave, making plans to go on a hunt of their own the next day. When they track a moose and prepare to attack, the Cavewomen led by Summer and Mimi ski over a hillside, get the moose and trigger an avalanche that buries the Alpha Chicks in the snow. Tasha declares war against the Cavewomen.

Oompka sees the need to try and form an alliance with the Neanderthals, she invites them over for a cookout. They arrive, led by Skyler, 32, a powerful hunk in a funny hat, and his sidekick, Burt, 35, a crunchy stinky wook. The girls get ready to grill moose steaks, but Skyler and Burt mansplain that the fire’s not ready, they argue about who knows how to grill and the men leave in a huff.

The next day, Alpha Chicks spy on the Cavewomen at ski-school practice; while they lunch on moose sandwiches, the Alpha Chicks attack, pelt them with rocks and steal all the ski equipment.

Skyler makes plans to leverage the Neanderthals’ position of privilege by making the warring tribes of women compete in a ski race for their alliance in the upcoming battle.

Tasha and the Alpha Chicks teach themselves to ski, her second-in-command, Veronica, 20s, helps stir up the troops and compliments her leadership style. Burt and Skyler arrive to announce their plan. The race is on.

Back in Chicago, sirens echo through dark desolate streets during an emergency power outage, Hack confers with scientists at headquarters, but their options are limited, they don’t know how long the bombardment of coronal mass ejection and concurrent electro-magnetic pulses will cripple civilization. Hack resolves to travel north and try to find Mimi and Summer, to follow their itinerary until he can track them down. Escorted by military police, he catches a flight from Chicago Midway Airport.

The next morning, Mimi and Summer lead a scouting party of Cavewomen to higher ground to find more trees. They train for the upcoming race, and craft even better skis to replace the stolen equipment. Across the valley, Alpha Chicks practice skiing and target-shooting with rocks and spears for the biathlon-style competition.

Back in Portland, Sophie Svenson resolves to go to Fairbanks to find Summer, the National Guard patrols the city, she gets Craig to drive her to the airport and surprises him by insisting he come along to help with the rescue mission.

III.

The night-time ski competition between the Cavewomen and Alpha Chicks is illuminated by fires and flaming torches, the hard-fought relay race goes to Mimi and Summer’s team, but the Neanderthals dump their agreement and choose to make alliance with the Alpha Chicks; Tasha’s fury bodes ill for the Cavewomen.

Hack, Sophie and Craig arrive by helicopter at the roadhouse where they meet Rhonda, who will lead the search party, they head out on dogsleds to find Mimi and Summer.

The tribes converge at Cavewoman camp for a meeting. Mimi and Summer attempt a diplomatic resolution, but Alpha Chicks and Neanderthals throw rocks at them, the death-battle is still a go. Oompka says she’s got a secret weapon.

The search party struggles through a blizzard, they hunker down in an abandoned cave with limited firewood. Saber-tooth tigers lurk out in the wilderness.

Neanderthals put themselves under Tasha’s command. The battle begins, rocks and spears fly. Summer follows Oompka’s plan, she lures the giant porcupine with nuts and berries onto the battlefield. Alpha Chicks and Neanderthals surround and bombard the Cavewomen. Summer unleashes the secret weapon, disperses the tribes, Cavewomen win the battle.

That evening, back at space-tech headquarters, scientists determine the solar flare will again blast Earth’s atmosphere within the hour. Sophie, Hack, Craig and Rhonda continue the search but witness a convergence of the aurora with a blinding flash of light that fills the sky.

Next morning, Oompka and Becky notice their alien visitors are gone; Hack, Sophie, Rhonda and Craig stumble into their camp and get blissfully bundled up in the romance of the prehistoric distant past.

A new day at the University of Portland, Mimi and Summer take their new Neanderthal manservants under their wing, and make travel plans to a warmer destination.