The main character, Matteo Alacrán, or Matt, is a young clone of a drug lord of the same name, usually called "El Patrón".

[citation needed] The idea was originally from a short story that Farmer wrote for an anthology, which she withdrew and then expanded after realizing it was too closely tied to her own life.

[1] Also on her website, Farmer notes that swear words were removed from the manuscript before publication, and that she wished the novel were 50 pages longer.

[1] A state known for its scorpion population,[2] Farmer based many of the novel's characters on figures from her life, both in childhood and present day.

[1] [citation needed] This story is set in the country of Opium, a narrow strip of land between Mexico (now called Aztlán), and the United States, which is ruled by the original Matteo Alacrán, or El Patrón, an incredibly powerful drug lord, who is over 140 years old.

For the first six years of his life, he lives in a small house on the edge of the poppy fields with Celia, a cook working in El Patrón's mansion.

Matt also discovers that all clones are supposed to be injected when "harvested" (born) with a compound that cripples their brains and turns them into little more than thrashing, drooling animals meant to donate organs.

Mr. Alacrán calls doctors to take him to emergency surgery, and after El Patrón dies, he orders Tam Lin to dispose of Matt.

After he manages to get free, he and Chacho are rescued by Ton-Ton and Fidelito, who drive the shrimp harvester to San Luis to find María and her mother, the politically powerful Esperanza Mendoza.

[citation needed] Matt takes on the role of El Patrón to become the new ruler of Opium, with intentions to dismantle the current regime.

Raised in close proximity to the Alacrán estate, Matt is constantly reminded of his position as a clone, being of equal status to cattle.

Helped along the way with family and friends, Matt realizes the corrupt nature of Opium and eventually seeks to change the drug-powered land for the better.

Described as a hardworking woman, Celia always made sure to make time for Matt, carrying him to bed every night, even past the point of exhaustion where she almost collapsed after working all day.

Tam Lin: Both Matt and El Patrón's body guard, he is described as having curly brown hair, blue eyes, and covered in scars.

Tam Lin spends a lot of time at Celia's house with Matt, teaching him survival skills such as cooking and camping.

Before working for El Patrón, Tam Lin was a Scottish nationalist, described by others as a terrorist for attempting to blow up a government official.

Deciding to make amends for the wrongs he committed at the end, Tam Lin allows El Patrón to poison and kill him along with the rest of the Alacrán family.

Trained as a scientist, Nancy Farmer recognized the positives of modern technology, as well as human's ability to "pervert" it, particularly where it concerns cloning drug lords and making powerful bombs and other weapons.

Further, though Matt is a direct clone of El Patrón, he is not a complete duplicate, and possesses qualities unique to an upbringing surrounded by love and certain circumstances.