The governor of a Mexican state is assassinated. Soon after, junior executive Daryl Chase's life turns upside down: after he flags a huge transfer of funds from a Mexican account as probably illegal, he's attacked in his apartment, rescued by a CIA agent, finds his secretary shot dead, and witnesses two cops get killed. He calls the CIA guy who tells him to grab the next train to Mexico. Leaving Manhattan, Daryl can't shake a jive-talking street punk named Freddy, and soon he's traded clothes with Freddy to escape the police. Within days, his girlfriend, his boss, his client, Freddy, the FBI, and the dead governor's dog are tangled in a web of deceit and danger. Who's who?

Captain Saxon, and agent for the top secret Omega agency, has been given the assignment of tracking down and either capturing or killing the crew members of a secret space mission who returned to Earth against orders. It seems that they were all infected with an alien parasite, and they were trying to bring its eggs back to Earth. The eggs were lost in an accident, and both Saxon and the astronauts are trying to locate them. What could the government want them for?

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.