Publisher's Synopsis
Pedro Escobel and Ramon Ortega are the rulers of a world they created. Life long friends, they have worked side by side from the time they were mere children mucking out stalls on a cattle ranch, until now, through hard work, coupled with sheer force of will, they have pulled themselves up from gut wrenching poverty to become the absolute masters ? the patrÃ3nes of the MedellÃ-n cocaine cartel: an organization that earns billions of dollars each year and employs thousands of Colombians. It is a violent world: a world in which corruption, graft, beatings, torture, and murder are considered to be only matters of doing "good business". From the lowest campesinos who grow their coca leaves, to the highest placed politicians, judges, military and police leaders, all take orders from these powerful men. Theirs is a harsh world where there is no room for democracy or self-determination. They make the rules, and the rules are simple; obey and you are handsomely rewarded; disobey and you are swiftly and ruthlessly punished. Absolute loyalty and obedience is necessary for the good of the cartel; and the cartel comes before family: a wife and children, a brother or sister. No one ever cheated the patrÃ3nes, or defied their rules; those who were foolish enough to try never survived the terrible vengeance called down on them by these two ferocious dons. This is their story.
