Foreword
It has been said that the key to salvation often lies in the very thing we fear most; the story that is about to unfold illustrates this theme with dramatic impact. Using the background of the modern urban sprawl that is Los Angeles, the author carefully examines the paradoxes of life in today's turbulent American society and their effect on the typical young couple.
Bill and Lori Taylor have been married for almost a year, and on the surface they appear to be an ideal pair. Bill, handsome and intelligent, is one of the ablest young lawyer's in the stable of an influential law firm. His radiantly beautiful wife, Lori, is an attractive and voluptuous woman, yet their marriage is in serious trouble. Under constant pressure at work, Bill is often away from his wife for long periods of time, often with glamorous females. His wife is tormented by sexual fears that are sublimated into an abnormal resentment of his frequent absences and jealousy of his provocative clients. Their clashes become more and more frequent until the very foundation of their marriage seems on the verge of collapse. Suddenly, into this volatile situation, fate throws a dramatic thunderbolt.
In the fast moving narrative that follows, you will meet a parade of characters vividly representative of the wide varieties of cultures and life styles that exist side by side in most big cities, particularly Los Angeles. With exceptional attention to detail and clarity, Faye Jackson takes us from the sleek, modern freeways to the palm-studded hills of Hollywood, from the hippie-motorcyclists dives of Laurel Canyon to the Pacific Coast enchantment of Malibu, as our young couple find themselves face to face with people and places totally alien to their normal life. You'll meet Edy Randall, a tempestuous film actress with strange, wanton tastes; Spyder, the motorcycle outlaw with degenerate ideas, and his girl friend, Rina, who has the mind of a child and the body of a woman; plus a shocking assortment of characters representative of the denizens of almost every modern American metropolis.
Written with graphic precision, no effort has been spared to give the reader a clear and vivid picture of the many ironies that confront all of us. It is our hope that by presenting this story in all it's stark reality, a very real lesson will be transmitted that signals a stirring note of hope and makes an urgent plea for tolerance and human understanding.
The publishers are grateful to the author for providing us with this brilliantly written thesis: we present it with great pride, and hope you, the readers, share our enthusiasm for this spellbinding social document.
-The Publishers Sausalito, California February 1972