Plot

Against his father's wishes, Pedro, a naive kid from Mexico City, joins the Federal Highway Patrol. His simple desire to do good rapidly comes into conflict with the reality of police work.

An episodic look at a young man's life in Mexico's national highway patrol. We follow Pedro Rojas from cadet training and his rookie assignment in a northern border area, to his quick courtship, his taking of bribes ("la mordida"), and his slow exposure to drug smuggling. Rojas re-forms his idealism as youthful naivete gives way to an adult's complicated choices.—<jhailey@hotmail.com>