Stephanie’s Stepside, Episode 2‪:‬

In this first sequel to Stephanie’s Stepside, Mair’s graduate student protagonist, Stephanie Carson, of the western San Joaquin Valley, is back in the massive fields lying poisoned by toxic waste. In an effort to restore to productivity the huge once fertile semi-arid lake bed of the ancient Tulare Lake region of California, she has brought a whole team of young experts.

Due to Stephanie’s excellent master’s project preparation, episode 2 begins only months after Stephanie’s UC Davis research team has been selected and has just begun its work of verifying Stephanie’s research. Because of the supercharged economic engine that the California western Central Valley had been, powerful political and economic forces are soon preparing to clash in the hot, dusty, and now lifeless fields of the western Central Valley.

It is not long before the silence of undulating heat waves slow dancing over a test field is broken by the sharp report of a high-powered rifle. The slump of a figure beside an old, but well-kept, red pickup and the metal on metal “spang” of a heavy bullet ricocheting away follow moments later.