The story of the rise and fall of the first American-born drug lord in Mexico, this tale of power, money, greed and betrayal amongst rival members of the drug cartels finds American gangster Erik Vasquez scheming to become the top dog in the Mexican underworld, only to find himself making enemies out of both the powerful cartels and his own allies.

A Marine patrol stops at Firebase Gloria at the start of the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam war. With the firebase attacked, the patrol remains to help defend it. The Marines barely hold off the VC (Viet Cong), but in the end, hold the base.

In this hard-edged urban drama, when a shocking murder is committed in a Hispanic neighborhood in East Lost Angeles, the local residents are up in arms and demand action from the police. When the cops prove slow to investigate the killing, the local street gangs who prowl the area put aside their differences and set out to find the murderer themselves.