Paladin's new friend, stabbed by an assassin, makes a dying request to have his body taken back home to his hacienda in Mexico.

Paladin is offered $1000 to win a horse race called a mule kalanta. When he arrives he finds out what the bet is, and he decides to make a change.

Paladin is asked to look for a missing brother, no matter the cost. When he finds out he's been missing for seven years, he accepts this task.