Manuel Mena is a police officer working inside a system run on "carta blanca" — an unofficial code of orders from above, including collecting payments from neighborhood businesses and acting with lethal freedom. He tries to do right without being destroyed by the same system he works for. The story is based on real events.

El Alfa, Tempo, Mark B, and La Manta appear in the supporting cast. Some unofficial copies of this footage circulate online under titles suggesting El Alfa is the film's central figure — the production's own official credits don't list him among the principal cast.