In 1970, Joni and Carey met in Matala, Crete, fell in love, and lived in a cave by the Mediterranean. For his twenty-fourth birthday present Joni wrote him the song, "Carey."

All this is public knowledge; however, Carey: Genesis of the Song delves beneath superficial fan-facts found in biographies of Joni. Carey's back story reveals how powerful life-forces, awakening and dark-night experiences, and travel adventures imprint into his character. The memoir traces Joni and Carey's interlaced paths from Crete to Hollywood, to the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, London and New York with Joni and James Taylor, and back to California, when in 1971, Reprise Records releases the Blue album.

In this year-in-the-life story while Joni was composing Blue, a mutual quest for authenticity, beauty and independence bonded them. As the memoir draws to a close, Cary fast-forwards from 1971 to fifteen years later at a dinner party in his New York apartment, where Joni is a guest. Cary ponders the meaning of the songs on Blue and the effect the album has had on his life.