On March 9, 1916, a band of Mexican marauders led by Pancho Villa crossed the border and raided the tiny town of Columbus, New Mexico. A military expedition was hastily organized to go into Mexico and capture Villa, suspects were rounded up, trials were held, and a virulent backlash against persons of Mexican origin erupted on the local and national scenes.

General John "Black Jack" Pershing, once a genuine fan of Villa's, accompanied by a young George Patton, was told to assemble a group of soldiers, head into Mexico, and get Villa--dead or alive. The last hurrah for the U.S. Cavalry, the expedition would be the first time armored tanks, airplanes and trucks were employed against an enemy.

But as they descended into the nightmare of Mexico, the American troops were followed by spies and picked off by snipers, fought violent battles, and suffered in the scorching deserts and snowy mountains. Some would never return home alive.A brutal account of revenge and violence, Eileen Welsome's richly detailed account is equal parts Sam Peckinpah, Cormac McCarthy, and Stephen Ambrose.