Valley of the Moon: The Diary of María Rosalía de Milagros, Sonoma Valley, Alta Valley, California, 1846,

María Rosalía is a Mestizo servant in a Spanish home. Orphaned years ago, she and her brother Domingo work on a ranch run by the stern Señor Medina. María's writing captures the intense tradition and culture of the Spanish as she observes the war that Alta California ultimately loses to the Americans.