'Conquistador' Summary

Wharton Cameron, a young American engineer of Creole descent, is hired to engineer a spur line for a Mexican railroad. However, the business folds, and he finds himself stranded near Hermosillo. His preferred route to the Rio Grande is blocked by marauding bands of the fearsome Hernando Luca, so Wharton heads toward the hacienda of Santa Eulalia, seeking the protection of its hacendado, Don Fernando Gutierrez. Don Fernando has no legitimate heir and adopts Wharton, who transforms into Don Pablo Gutierrez. Don Pablo soon becomes hacendado, a wealthy and influential man responsible for the livelihood of thousands. He must marry to secure their future by producing an heir. Torn between his American sweetheart, Dorry; Doña Flora, a fiery actress; and Manuelita, a local maiden, Don Pablo must make a choice that will shape his future and the fate of Santa Eulalia.