After agreeing to being declared "killed in action" to avoid an embarrassing international incident for the United States, Phil Gioco enters the witness protection program as a ranch hand on the Texas border near Piedras Negras, Mexico. After two years of anonymity and exile in a mundane job, Phil is offered a suicide mission for the chance to regain his identity. Tortured by his past, Phil accepts the challenge, and agrees to be the Police Chief of Piedras Negras after three of the previous chiefs have been murdered by the Codicia Drug cartel.