Red Altar is a creative fiction novel based on true people and events starting with the 1850 Chinese junk boat crash that tossed 6 teenagers into the Carmel Bay to be rescued by members of the Ohlone Rumsen nation. The novel follows 3 generations of one Chinese family as they started the fishing industry in the Monterey Bay area despite increasing racism and prejudice.

This is a story of resilience and courage, woven with the history of the anti-Chinese politics of the 19th century, and of the family members who endured and reinvented themselves over and over again as they faced laws against them and still thrived.

Today, hundreds of their descendants gather every year to celebrate the resilience, courage and contributions of the family Red Altar is based on.