Terry Brogan, an aging football player in L.A., is cut early in the season; he needs money, so he takes a job from a shady friend of his, Jake Wise, to track down Wise's girlfriend, Jessie, who's somewhere in Mexico. She's also the daughter of a very wealthy land developer, who owns Terry's team. He heads for Cozumel, finds Jessie, and promptly falls in love with her. He thinks it's mutual, then without warning, she heads back to L.A. and Jake. What's going on with her, and what's the connection between Jake's hold on Jessie and the various politicians, lawyers, and environmentalists who seem to be converging on some sort of land deal? Terry keeps looking for answers.

In the mid-70s, near Reno, Grace Bontempo runs the Love Ranch, a legal brothel. Her husband Charlie, with big dreams, a felony record, and an aptitude for spending and infidelity, is the brothel's public face. On the day Grace's doctor tells her she has cancer in an advanced state, Charlie takes on new client, Argentine boxer Armando Bruza, Charlie's ticket to fame: he hopes to promote a fight with Ali. Because of Charlie's felonies, Grace is Bruza's titular manager. With the IRS and the church ladies circling the business, Grace takes the manager's role seriously and, along the way, Bruza charms her. Secrets play out: is there love at the Love Ranch? How will Charlie respond?

Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on half-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo. It opens in 1972, as the three are members of an East L.A. gang known as the "Vatos Locos", and the story focuses on how a violent crime and the influence of narcotics alter their lives. Miklo is incarcerated and sent to San Quentin, where he makes a "home" for himself. Cruz becomes an exceptional artist, but a heroin addiction overcomes him with tragic results. Paco becomes a cop and an enemy to his "carnal", Miklo.