The stories reveal how people make deals, how they learned to kill, what it is like to be tortured, what the money from drug dealing can buy, why people become involved in drugs, and why almost no one survives. Much of the book focuses on Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. The people who talked to the author wanted to be heard; they wanted to express their pain, sorrow, happiness, and sometimes regrets for what they have done. The author concludes that drugs have spread to every level of American society and that the drug industry and drug money have raised the expectations of millions of Mexicans to middle class comfort and beyond. The only people who will never be tempted to escape from reality via drugs are those whose lives are satisfying enough without drugs. The author notes that money and military force are not going to solve the problem, but he offers no solution. He is sure of only one thing; there is a supply of drugs south of the border and a demand for drugs north of the border. He attempts to illustrate the scope of the problem and the effect drug use and dealing have on people's lives.