One of the dominant themes of the book can be called working for a cause. When Brown first arrived in Los Angeles, he didn't know what he wanted to do. He was looking for a story to write and planned on writing a book. Even through he was a lawyer, he didn't want to practice law. When he met the Chicano militants, he became their lawyer and represented them in various cases. He also represented members in the Chicano community in various cases, like the Robert Fernandez case. Brown wanted to see an end to the repression experienced by the Chicano community and wanted to see an improvement in living conditions for them.