He is born into a very culturally rich family; emblematic of this is his Colt.45 pistols, which once belonged to his great grandfather Elfego Baca one of the heroes of New Mexico. It was Elfego who rid New Mexico of its desperadoes during the state's infancy, and Sonny has always felt it necessary to live up to his ancestral past. His self-doubt manifests itself in an inability to escape his ancestral burden; he feels that his ancestry makes demands of him that he cannot meet. Therefore, the quest to find Gloria's killers becomes a "spiritual mission" for him to redeem himself in front of his ancestors. The strength of his character building lies in Anaya's ability to blend the duality of the present, with Sonny's cultural past, thus creating many narratives within the primary narrative. The secondary character within this novel is Gloria. The mysterious cousin of Sonny's who was ritualistically murdered after her blood is drained and used as a sacrifice to the gods. Anaya carefully crafts the character of Gloria as a foil to Sonny....

She unlike Sonny is not burdened by her culture, and instead strove to achieve the best life for herself within contemporary society. In many ways, Gloria lacks all of the weaknesses that Sonny has, and therefore effectively serves as a foil for Sonny's character. This allows Sonny's quest for vengeance to become legitimized on both a personal and emotional level, because he must make up for the shortcomings in himself as homage to Gloria.
Therefore although there is no in-depth character development, she is vital to the narrative.

The general theme of this novel is one of redemption and rebirth. Sonny Baca had lost his way because he could not live in the shadow of his culture and his ancestral heritage. Haunted by painful memories and self-doubt, his mission to find Gloria's killers becomes a personal quest for redemption. In the denouement of the story, when he is in the midst of finding the truth behind her death, he finally comes to terms with who he is and gains a spiritual connectivity with his ancestors.