Don Winslow's The Power of the Dog is an epic, sprawling crime thriller that chronicles the U.S. War on Drugs over three decades, from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s.
It follows the lives of several key characters whose paths constantly intersect in a cycle of corruption and violence:
Art Keller, an obsessive DEA agent dedicating his life to fighting the drug trade.
Adán Barrera, the ruthless and brilliant nephew who becomes the head of a massive Mexican drug cartel (the Federación).
Nora Hayden, a high-class sex worker who becomes entangled with powerful figures on both sides of the border.
Father Parada, a powerful and incorruptible priest in Mexico.
The narrative exposes the deep corruption in both the U.S. and Mexican governments, particularly the CIA's involvement in Central American drug trafficking, and details the brutal rise of the Mexican drug cartels as they transform the drug business from the opium trade into the massive cocaine pipeline. It is the first book in Winslow's acclaimed "Cartel Trilogy."
