When Cassandra Maldionado leaves her home in pursuit of an advertising career, she thought her hardest challenge would be overcoming the guilt of moving away from her Cuban family. Wrong! Five years later, with her grandmother's fragile whisper of, "you're abandoning the family" still ringing in her ears, Cassie discovers that she has much bigger plantains to fry. Cassie is set to marry her business partner, Brad Rush, an ambitious entrepreneur, who after conquering the title of Atlanta's Ad Man, turns his sights to real estate and gives Cassie her ultimate career goal of running the ad agency. Unfortunately, everything goes loco when Cassie discovers that Brad is having an affair her assistant, Kate, a vegan, twenty-something who has taken the job to pay for her community theatre lessons. Shocked and dismayed, Cassie returns home for Christmas where she finds comfort and support from her family... Latin-style. Her mother offers the ultimate act of Latin revenge, which involves removing a certain organ and serving it up with lots of mojo. Her father refuses to accept the fact Cassie was engaged because the "S-O-B" never asked permission for her hand and pleads with her to come back to work in the family's cigar store. Her aunt puts a curse on Brad that she swears will sear his guts like an old fashioned Cuban barbeque. Her cousin comforts her with his recent tale of doomed love. Her little sister offers advice from a self-help book that she says has all the answers. Perhaps most valuable, her grandmother instills her own brand of wisdom: "You can't be mad at an asshole for being an asshole." And that's just the beginning. Southern Fried Latina has more twists and turns than a Tijuana crack whore in detox. Join Cassie as she sets out on a winding journey of self-discovery where she learns that being true to yourself is the first step in finding happiness.

All content copyright ©2007, Lori Oliva.