Soldiers of the California Mission Frontier and Their Families explains why Spain sent soldiers to California, and paints a picture of what life was like for the soldiers living and working at the California missions and presidios. There to protect the padres and the Native Americans who lived on the missions, the soldiers also made these communities their home. They raised families, worked the land, and formed relationships with the people they had come to protect. The book also explains what life was like for the women and children of the mission soldiers.