In 1944, he moved to Big Sur, a section of the California coast, living in Partington Ridge from May 1944 until January 1946.

She moved to Long Beach, and their children, Tony and Val, stayed with Miller in the summers and at Christmas time.

[1] At the time of the book's publication, numerous Miller books were still banned in the US: Tropic of Cancer, Aller Retour New York, Black Spring, Tropic of Capricorn, The World of Sex, Quiet Days in Clichy, Sexus and Plexus.

[8][9] The first two main parts of the book are portraits of Big Sur, with descriptions of its inhabitants, including writers, mystics, and two of Miller's children, Tony and Val.

[10] The third part tells the story of when Miller was visited by an old friend from Paris, the French astrologer Conrad Moricand, in 1947.

Moricand did not immediately return to Europe, however, instead writing Miller angry letters about his perceived mistreatment.