Dennis Taliaferro Reade, the son of a struggling south Texas cattle rancher, is at the bottom of his life, ruined by poor choices and the selfish indifference of others. He is unable to see a viable future, suffered a failed marriage and is in deep despair, when in Guatemala an altogether unexpected and vicious event gives him the chance to reinvent himself and escape from his utter despondency. On this journey he is rescued and counseled by Christian missionaries and a rebel Colonel. He proves his mettle, by taking his life back into his own hands. Rising to meet many challenges, he performs heroically and honorably in meeting many obstacles and threats not of his making, especially during and after the February 4, 1976 devastating earthquake in Guatemala, earning public acclaim and a nickname: THE HERO OF MIXCO, he emerges a whole man, finding his true love, claiming a promising and fulfilling future.