I wrote the book as a result of my bucket-list History Masters program at Harvard. As part of that program, I stumbled across a short article about Chinese workers in St. Helena vineyards in the late 1800s. As I researched, I discovered that Chinese workers were critical in many industries between 1870 and 1900 throughout the Napa Valley. There were Chinatowns in Napa, St. Helena, and Calistoga. Chinese workers were eventually driven out, and their businesses and homes were razed.

I grew up in Napa, and there was no mention of any of this in the local history we were taught in school. This is a very important part of our community that has almost completely been erased from local memory. My goal is to have this book be a very belated acknowledgment and "thank you" to all the Chinese workers who lived, worked, and - in some cases - died, making the Napa Valley a world-class destination.