Frontera

Miguel Ramirez prepares for illegal entry into the United States from Mexico, weighing the risks against his family's needs. At his father-in-law's request, he reluctantly agrees to be accompanied by Jose, a slovenly and opportunistic man who eyes Miguel's pregnant wife Paulina. Together they set out with the intention of crossing into the U.S.

The pair cross the border onto a sprawling Arizona ranch owned by Olivia McNary and her husband Roy. Olivia goes horseback riding and encounters Miguel and Jose. She offers them bottled water and a blanket, sharing a brief conversation before riding away.

Meanwhile, teens Sean Hunt and his friends carry out a reckless shooting with Sean's father's rifle. Brad fires shots toward Miguel and Jose, forcing them to scramble and drawing Olivia and Roy's attention. Sean objects to the closeness of the shots, while Kevin goads him to prove himself, and Olivia appears on the scene as tension escalates.

Olivia's horse is spooked by the commotion and throws her onto a rocky area. Miguel tries to warn her away, and Sean fires at a water jug through his scope, intensifying the danger. By the time Roy arrives, Olivia has died in his arms after the chaotic sequence.

Jose befriends two other Mexicans and the group forces their way into a house, robbing the family of food, a wallet, and a truck at knifepoint. Jose is later found with Olivia's blanket in his possession, tying him to the prior encounter. They are subsequently arrested.

Miguel is arrested while doing landscaping work and phones Paulina to inform her of his arrest. Sheriff Randall Hunt becomes involved, and the case against Miguel shifts as investigators begin to question the shooting connections.

Paulina decides to go to the U.S. herself, joining a group led by coyotes who guide a dozen people across the border to Phoenix. They bribe an immigration officer along the way, but the group is violently beaten and raped by two coyotes, who then hold the group for ransom.

Sheriff Randall Hunt informs Roy of Miguel's arrest, but Roy pushes for a deeper probe into the rifle shots he heard. He gains access to Miguel and learns more about Olivia's death, collecting a bullet and fresh rifle casings as part of the investigation. During the inquiry, he also witnesses signs of another violent act: a Mexican being killed by a sniper, who flees in a green and white 4x4.

Roy turns over the evidence to Sheriff Randall, who recognizes the shell casings as ones he reloaded himself and fired from his own rifle. The revelation shifts suspicion away from Miguel and complicates the case, as the teens offer conflicting accounts of the events.

With the teens' stories conflicting, Roy becomes convinced of Miguel's innocence. The teens face unspecified charges for their role in Olivia's death, but Roy agrees to speak on Sean's behalf, on the condition that Sean tells the truth at the deposition.

After the Phoenix hostages escape, Flora and Roy quietly transport Paulina first to see Miguel in jail, and then back to her family in Mexico. Roy then helps secure Miguel's release and brings him to his ranch, where Miguel begins to adjust to a new life. Miguel notices Olivia's horse has a dirty pen and starts shoveling out the manure, an act Roy joins as they plan the next steps.

Roy offers to hire Miguel to repair the fence from the Mexico side of the border. As Miguel begins work, a sniper brings Miguel into his rifle sights. Roy rides to confront the threat, standing over the sniper and drawing his own gun in a tense standoff that ends the immediate danger.