Ralph Gutiérrez, un muchacho mexico-americano, después del asesinato de su madre y la posterior muerte de su hermana en Tijuana, se dirige a la Ciudad de México a entrevistarse con una de las mas grandes narcotraficantes de los años 50s llamada Lola "La Chata". Ahí se convierte en un gangster dispuesto a hacer fortuna a costa de la violencia y corrupción.

In this novel based on Jim Kouf's 1997 crime thriller, two cops set up and murder a narcotics-dealer as part of a get-rich-quick scheme. Then it turns out said pusher was a Drug Enforcement Agent. Ordered to investigate their own homicide, our antiheroes pin it on a homeless drunk...who's subsequently revealed as the long-lost heir to a billion-dollar financial empire.

When conflict arises between the Leon family and the Gambino family over a whisky deal, friendships are tested, alliances broken, and empires forged.