In hot, sunny Mexico, Mark Hardin, the Penetrator, finds himself pitted against the power-mad Latin known as El Baron. And mad is the word for him...he's concocted a plot to kidnap important citizens of various countries and hold them hostage. The ransom: an entire Mexican territory. As El Baron's plan goes into action, important people begin to disappear. One of them is a friend of Mark's mentor, Professor Haskins, and the Penetrator decides to move in. The only way to find out about El Baron's secret operations is to become a victim himself. It's a penetrating action at its trickiest, and the lives of El Baron's terrified hostages depend on Mark's making all the right moves.