Set in the picturesque hills of Topanga Canyon, within hailing distance of the glitter and hype of modern-day Los Angeles, The Ashram gives us a fictional look at Southern California's colorful esoteric community, where the forces of Western commercialism and the mystic traditions of the East meld to form the beginnings of a new spiritual culture. Against this backdrop, we follow the journey of a young yogi in his search for enlightenment, from his childhood initiation by a mysterious sage to his romantic encounter with the woman who is destined to open his heart to the suffering in the world around him, a stark reality that he must come to terms with before he can complete his inner journey. In the process, the reader is ushered into the primal landscapes of the human spirit, where the final reckoning of who we are is determined by how we respond to the challenges that life places in our path.