Set in the rich farmland of the Salinas Valley, California, this powerful, often brutal novel, follows the interwined destinies of two families

- the Trasks and the Hamiltons

- whose generations hopelessly re-enact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel. Here Steinbeck created some of his most memorable characters and explored his most enduring themes:

the mystery of indentity; the inexplicability of love, and the murderous consequences of love's absence.