Richards, a leading historian of 19th-century America (The Life and Times of Congressman John Quincy Adams), superbly illuminates gold rush California as a land in contention between national pro- and anti-slavery lobbies in the decade leading up to the Civil War. For Southerners the labor-intensive gold riches to be found in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains seemed custom-made for exploitation by slave labor working for the aggrandizement of whites.

With two of the nations largest megalopolises - Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area-California has the largest, wealthiest, and most urbanized population of any state in the nation. Yet its also an agricultural wonderland, a nature-lovers paradise, a wine-lovers dream, an outdoor enthusiasts ideal playground, and more. In fact, theres so much to see and do in California that youll probably have to choose.

When TROY turned on crime boss DMITRI DEBARTOLLA he was forced to leave Los Angeles and lay low in Miami. After two years, and the loss of his leg in a shootout with a Cuban crime syndicate, Troy returns to LA to reclaim what is rightfully his. A reunion with his former partners in a rundown hotel sets the stage for an explosive encounter where past and present collide.