The 1598 Spanish conquest of New Mexico through the eyes of Maria Angelica, wife of a brutal army captain. Between affairs with a junior officer and an Indian slave, she describes the greed and violence of two decades of colonization, culminating in the founding of Santa Fe.

Josefina hopes to become a "curandera" or healer like Tía Magdalena, and she is tested just before her tenth birthday when a friend receives a potentially fatal snakebite.

In 1825 when Josefina trusts a trader in Santa Fe with an important deal, she makes a surprising discovery about this young American who leaves town without paying her.

At the time of the Spanish Conquest, a metis from New Mexico is sent to Mexico City to be trained as a Jesuit priest. But the barbarity of the whites, coupled with the love of a woman leads him to abandon his studies and return to work for his people.

In 1825 when Josefina trusts a trader in Santa Fe with an important deal, she makes a surprising discovery about this young American who leaves town without paying her.