"In seven stories, Steinbeck traces the fates and dreams of an extraordinary cast of characters, from sailors and ranchers to doctors and immigrants - as each struggles to carve out a living in the often inhospitable environment of rocky cliffs, crashing surf, and rough patches of land along the California coast and the Big Sur. In "Blind Luck," a wayward orphan finds his calling at sea, only to learn that life must concede to the whims of authority and the ravages of nature.

In "Dark Watcher," a professor craves a plausible discovery to boost his academic standing - and encounters the Indian myth of a shadowed horseman that may ruin his career. "An Unbecoming Grace" tracks the route of a country physician who cares for an ill-tempered cur - but feels more concern for the well-being of the patient's beleaguered young wife."--BOOK JACKET.