Set in west Texas about 125 miles from the Mexican border near Del Rio and Langtry, All the Pretty Horses is a story of loss and adventure. John Grady Cole, the main character, is just 16 years old and attending his grandfather's funeral when the novel opens. His mother and father are finally divorcing after years of separation, and his mother is determined to sell the ranch owned by her father. So John Grady sets off on his horse, Redbo, accompanied by his best friend Lacey Rawlins, on his horse, Junior. They ride south across Texas, and, just north of the border, an even younger runaway boy follows them on a big bay horse. Rawlins, the realist, thinks Blevins, who has named himself after a radio preacher, will be nothing but trouble; John Grady, the idealist, is more sympathetic. Sticking together, the three boys ride their horses naked across the Rio Grande River, after securing their belongings in their tied-up pants.
In a lightning thunderstorm, Blevins loses everything except one boot, but a few days later, when they see his horse in a small town, Encantada, the three of them dare to reclaim it, but, of course, they are followed. Blevins separates from John Grady and Rawlins, who finally arrive at a beautiful hacienda that they have heard about on their journey. They find work as cowboys and wranglers, breaking sixteen wild mustangs in four days, to earn their reputations. Soon, because John Grady has proved his abilities with horses, he is promoted to breeder for Senor Rocha, the hacienda owner. A love story begins when the owner's daughter, Alejandra, a year older than John Grady, seduces him. Rawlins tries to warn his friend of the danger he is getting into by entering a relationship with the owner's daughter. The two boys are taken away in handcuffs at the end of Chapter II, when they are caught by the men who saw them take Blevins' horse back and accused of stealing.
