The Dried Earth: What has happened to our and 50 similar items

Two guys in their twenties meet in a southern California bar. Talking, they find they have one thing in common. They are both unemployed and looking for work. One is a suspended college student; the other an illegal Mexican immigrant. They decide to pool their resources, head north, and look for work, starting with work in gas and oil fracking, Reaching the Central valley, they apply for work at Esperanza, California (fictional). The hiring agent spots them as inexperienced workers with problems, but needing employees for an injection well, hires them, at surprisingly high wages. To find out what happens to them, how each meets a spouse, marries and raise their families, and learn about the problems in the oil fields, that sends their careers in different directions, read the intriguing story of "The Dried Earth."