Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Charlie LeDuff journeys into the heart of California to experience life in a gated community. Canyon Lake has become a haven for white, middle class families who have fled the cities for peace of mind. The locals love it so much they've dubbed the city A Little Bit of Paradise.

But LeDuff encounters something more sinister going on beneath the veneer of swimming pools, lakes and golf buggies. Gathering stories from both sides of the fence, he runs into skinheads, stoned teenagers, desperate housewives, a porn director and a former Hollywood stuntman.

What are these people running from? What are they looking for behind these gates? And what happens when you separate the haves from the have nots?