Lando Poncho Vega, head of the Chiapas cartel, has a conundrum. As a member of the powerful twelve families of Mexico, he must quickly prove to the northern families that he can secure the southern borders from neighboring gangs attempting to take away market share and steal product. In a border war romance, his only daughter, Rio, has become engaged to a top director at DHS, an American-born Latino of Mexican parents. Mexico is booming and has become the top importer of American goods. In fact, the two countries are so joined at the hip; almost every highway connects on a map. Then three U.S. senators introduce a bill in Congress to annex Mexico, purchasing her with bonds. The Pentagon is invited in to round up the cartels and stabilize the region. MS 13 has quickly risen to the top, making both sides nervous. To counter the growth in gangs in Mexico and Guatemala, the Joint Chiefs choose a couple of washed out, crusty, embedded soldiers: Icy Barber and Blacky Bridges. Pissed off, Poncho Vega counters with two exotic cats from Texas to use as deterrents. Too tempting, it becomes one of Poncho's dozen wicked habits: feeding his enemies to the hungry jaws of his pets, Thunder and Lightning