A new breed of criminal stalks the barrios—the Zavalas, part death-worshiping cult, part crime syndicate. The seductive and merciless Gemma Zavala, aka Mama Z, heads the cartel. Anyone she can’t bribe or intimidate ends up paying the ultimate price as a human sacrifice in her Aztec rituals. Ruthless, blood-thirsty with influence far and wide, the Zavalas appear unstoppable.

Until they murder the wrong girl.

Returning home from the military, Maria Diaz was a beautiful young woman with a bright future. She wanted to be a social worker, to give back to the community she loved.

That dream died in a bloody instant.

Days before Dia de los Muertos, Maria’s brother betrayed the Zavalas. The cartel sought retribution and slaughtered the entire Diaz family, committing unthinkable acts of brutality in the process.

Maria, beaten and shot, crawled from the burning ruins of her family home only to succumb to her wounds.

But something brought Maria back. She was too pissed off to stay dead.

Now, under the harsh tutelage of her mentor Faustino, she hunts the Zavala Cartel without mercy. She claims the name Muerta and paints her face in the Mexican calavera style—a hauntingly beautiful skull.

Her weapons: fear, stealth, and cunning.

Her goal: to avenge her family and send the Zavala’s to hell, even at the cost of her own humanity.

In the tradition of Desperado and Death Wish, Muerta is a stylish, Mexi-Noir thriller with ferocious action to burn.