In California of the late 1960s, teenage Dawn Reinhart has run away to live with her boyfriend, in a subculture of "hippies", drugs, and free love. This fictional tale is told in the first person by the private detective hired by Dawn's father to find her. He uncovers a murder, a drug smuggling enterprise, and an environment populated by Hells Angels, street preachers, bars, slick operators, cops, and the ubiquitous "hippies." Of course not everyone is what they appear. The answer to who has done what comes as a mild surprise, because the reader is not given the appropriate clues. A choice for the Detective Book Club in 1969, this story is light entertainment of the genre. Many current readers may find the story dated by its time frame; but a few may appreciate its evocation of "the 60s." ( )