Ingersoll's book basically consists of three parts: the first and second parts offer a brief history of California and Los Angeles county and are given as a preface to the local history in order that the reader may have a connected story from the date of the discovery of the country. Included here are also sketches of each of the twenty-one Franciscan missions of Alta California. The third and final part deals with the history of the Santa Monica Bay cities and shows their growth and expansion through the years.