Street violence in Mexico's tourist areas follows a 1990 financial meltdown, brought to life through two Americans left behind after a major evacuation effort by the U.S. Navy. These Americans tell their story of escape, integrating involvement by the US. Navy personnel, The White House, the Mexican government, a middle-class Mexican family together with a radical and unstable Mexican professor who seeks a new Mexico.

A financial crisis is almost a regular event in Latin America but this differs from most, spinning out of control, bringing together a political crisis to the White House, international conflict with a Mexican governor, and on through the respective armies, to Mexicans and Americans caught up in the ensuing violence. Common Americans and Mexicans, each with their own personal stories to tell, illustrate the quick effect that politics can have on ordinary citizens. Ultimately, the crisis is resolved in major part due to the insights and unusual bravery of Americans and Mexicans.

The President, military leadership, U.S. Navy initiatives, street violence, recession, romance, and legal punishment are all a part of The Mexican Incident.