Demetrio Macías is in trouble with a powerful man over a simple misunderstanding. The rich man recruits the police to help find Macías, and when they come to harass him, the kill his puppy, Palomo, which means dove. He abandons his family, expecting that they will not bother them unless he is there, and he plans his revenge against the Mexican government in the mountains, where he starts a resistance of rebels like himself.
He recruits a man named Luis Cervantes, a well-educated man who was burned by the government in some unfair dealings, causing him to swear vengeance against them. Then, Güero Margarito joins their group. He isn't fair like Cervantes. He is more like a criminal who uses the Revolution as an excuse to commit crimes. Eventually, their group is joined by La Pintada, which the novelist translates, "War Paint," a woman who is gritty and powerful. Macías is visited by a young peasant girl who flirts with him and joins the group as his gal pal. Together, this group travels through the mountains.
Eventually, it occurs to them that they are truly not powerful enough to overthrow the Mexican establishment. They are too few, and they are all poor. When they confront the army, they are outmaneuvered and outgunned, and they always end up retreating. Slowly, after a long string of disappointing battles and deaths, they return to their homes to accept their fate—the final scene is Macías alone, sniping Mexican soldiers as they approach his home. He is accurate and talented, and he kills many men, but he is outnumbered, and the novel ends with him realizing he will die.
