Flavio is a young Mexican-American boy growing up in a small, rural town of Capulin, New Mexico. An atomic bomb is rumored to have been built just over the next mountain range. The coming of electricity, the U.S. Forest Service and a large sawmill, all brought by Gringos just after World War II will forever change the culture of Capulin.
Flavio has a special relationship with El Grande, his grandfather. The old man’s powerful persona rules, buttressed by his hex-barrel 30-30 Winchester, the symbol of order and reason in the village. Alongside his grandfather, Flavio is on his way to manhood through hard ranch work: fence mending, branding, horse breaking, hunting, and learning the ways of the forest. The strong yet gentle guiding hand of El Grande must now compete with the lure of all that is new and exciting. Flavio is torn between the seductiveness of progress and his loyalty to the village traditions so steadfastly preserved by his grandfather.
