Juan Miguel del Valle is drawn into the thick of a brewing Mexican rebellion when he and his daughter move to El Paso in the summer of 1897. He vows to stay out of the fight, but the injustices he sees around him in the turn of the century border town, which is a hotbed of rebel plots, compel him to sympathize with the rebels. It's been eight years since Juan Miguel nearly died defending the dockworkers of Galveston and he still bears the scars. Although he is reluctant to become embroiled in another controversial cause, when a suspicious bullet whizzes past his ear and he realizes he's being spied on, he agrees to use his political connections in Washington to aid the rebels. While in Washington, Juan Miguel only puts himself in more danger in a town filled with political intrigue. In spite of that, he finds romance with a Spanish princess just as the threat of war with Spain looms and separates them. Rattled and careless and sure he's lost the woman he loves, Juan Miguel gives himself away and reveals his real identity. He flees into the Sierra Madres, looking for whoever is out to kill him among a bandido gang, a convent of German nuns, the card sharks at a fancy hotel, and the richest and most powerful in Mexico.