This is the first biography of the legendary officer Cipriano Baca, scion of a prestigious Spanish lineage tracing their heritage to the first settlers in Nuevo Mexico. Baca was well educated and a successful businessman before beginning a 52-year career as a peace officer. Tenderhearted by nature, he could be cold as steel, even, lethal, doing his duty. He was a man of honor and principle in an age of greed and selfishness.

Cipriano was first an undercover range detective, next a deputy sheriff and a deputy U.S. marshal. In 1901, the territorial governor appointed Baca the first sheriff of the newly formed Luna County, and in 1905, the state governor selected him as the first man to head New Mexico's newly established territorial rangers. Written with the full cooperation of the Baca family and utilising public and private records, this biography presents the truth about a complicated man. One revelation: Baca discovered who was the real killer of Pat Garrett and the motive behind the murder.