Longtime residents of the Cuyama Valley of Southern California say, “Either the valley grabs hold of you and pulls you in, or it kicks you out within a year or so.” The valley decided about Jane Slama before she decided about it. Ten years after her arrival, she realized that she had succumbed to its rhythms and relished its isolation. As she drove back and forth to the coast for work, however, she began to wonder about this seemingly lost world she lived in. Aside from specific scientific studies, anthropological, archaeological, geological or geo-hydrological, little had been written about it – something she remedies with this narrative. In it, she explores a forgotten rural corner of south – central California, a place that seems to defy the thrust of modern progress in spite of inexorable change. She examines forces that have shaped its history and the unusual array of those who have played key roles in its development. Join the author on an eye-opening and sometimes amusing journey that will give you a new appreciation and understanding of the valley.