GALLEON BAY

Matthew Hannifin the IVth decides to take a look at the small town of Escalona, California which was once known as ""Hannifin's Landing,"" founded by his great grandfather. Only the name Hannifin proves curiously unpopular with certain old guard citizens of the town. Persistent and intrigued, Matt gets a Job with the local newspaper and he meets local artist Matra Valdovino, also a descendant of one of the founding families. It's redwood country and this is Just run of the grist to the mill: there is a local flare-up when the Atomic Energy Commission sets it sites on Escalona as a spot for a nuclear power plant; a bank embezzler and his girl friend who are Afraid that Matt's investigation of the past might bring up an embarrassing present and then the townspeople themselves who seem to be so apprehensive. It's all very neatly and romantically resolved in a book that seems, like the redwoods, to have been conceived centuries ago.