Summary

Chapter 1 takes place in Santa Isabel, Gulf of Mexico during March in the year 1846. Ximena spots the Yanqui cavalry sailing towards her hometown, which lies in the disputed territory between the Rio Grande and the Rio Nueces. Suddenly, an alarm goes off. She and her grandmother, Nana Hortencia, run to the storehouses in search of Ximena’s husband, Joaquin. They find him running him out of the customhouse and join him. The village is burning.

Suddenly, shots are fired into the air. It is an old man named General Zachary Taylor: the Yanqui commander-in-chief. He tells the villagers not to be afraid. Ximena, Joaquin, and Nana flee on a wagon. Ximena wonders what war will mean for her family.

In Chapter 2, Ximena spends the night at a rancho with her family. The next morning, Ximena rides into the village on her horse, Cenzio...