Tessa Harlow never thought of Los Ladrones, New Mexico as a hiking tour destination. At least not until her last tour ended in an unfortunate accident. A similar accident at the age of four had erased all her early childhood memories, but this recent accident is bringing them back in broken bits and pieces. Tessa needs to make peace with the loss of life in this unfortunate accident and also peace with her past.

Tessa works as a tour guide for Rambling Tours, based in California. Currently, she is recuperating at her dad's place in Santa Cruz from s broken arm and a nasty spider bite. However, she is antsy to get back out there to lead tours and comes up with an idea for a tour trip to Los Ladrones. She pitches this to her boss, and he sends her out for a week to investigate the possibilities. Tessa has another agenda in mind, as well.

Tessa was born in a commune near Los Ladrones in the early 1970s, during the hippie generation. She only knows what her dad, Sam, has told her about her life before she almost drowned in a river there. She wants to piece together the small glimpses that are coming back to her and maybe learn more about her years there.

One of the first people she meets in Los Ladrones is Vince Grasso. He does firefighting/search and rescue by trade. There are instant sparks between the two and they both want to see and explore more of each other. However, Vince is a widower with three little children and has issues of his own.

As Tessa explores the area, she also explores her past. She feels if she doesn't know where she has been, she won't know where she is headed in the future. Her dad is not encouraging her, telling her there are evil spirits in Los Ladrones. He also admonishes her to look forward, not back. But she learns there are many secrets here, secrets in which her life are intertwined.

You'll enjoying exploring the past with Tessa and learning the many secrets that unfold. Barbara O'Neal has masterfully woven local culture, the beauty of nature, her love of food and restaurants, and a little romance into this magnificent novel. And there is a bonus -- many fantastic recipes are sprinkled throughout its pages.