I drove six hours to check into my new luxury resort, only for the front desk clerk to toss a keycard at my feet.

CHAPTER 1

The drive along the Pacific Coast Highway always required a certain kind of endurance. For the past four hours, I had been gripping the wheel of a standard rental sedan, following the relentless, winding curves of Big Sur. On my left, the ocean slammed into jagged cliffs, breaking into violent white foam. On my right, dense, ancient redwoods continue reading …