Once upon a time in the Mora Valley of northern New Mexico there lived a farmer named Ponciano Gutiérrez. On a trip through the mountains he was taken captive by Vicente Silva and his gang of bank robbers. This tale of Ponciano's quick-witted escape has been a bedtime story for generations in the Paiz family.

New Mexico authors at the turn of the last century published many accounts of the crimes of Vicente Silva. This book is the first to present a Silva legend that has been kept alive by families in Mora since the 1890s. The Paiz family version is presented in English with a Spanish translation by A. Gabriel Meléndez.