The fact that Joanna Johansen was adopted was never a secret, but she rarely talked about it with her long-time school friends, Amy, Lauren, and Janene. There came a moment, however, when Joanna answered their questions and disclosed her birth box left by that long-ago mother. Following the death of her adoptive mother, Joanna launches a journey that takes her to Mexico, following clues toward the discovery of this unknown mother. Honoring the pact of their childhood, each friend plays a role in the search, experiencing fragments of the richness of Mexico-its contrasts, its powerful history, and remarkably romantic setting. They watch as Joanna finds unexpected romance, questions her future, and achieves solace. The reader catches glimpses of Dixie, the birth mother, whose childhood pain left a permanent spine in her heart. Hers has been a life of fleeing from deep turmoil. La Espina is a story of friendship, loyalty, love, searching, and healing.