During its Fiesta, a small desert town in New Mexico welcomes three strangers. Sailor, a hood from Chicago, is here to confront his boss, Sen (a crooked "weasel-faced" senator), in order to extort money. He is the only one who can finger Sen for setting up the murder of his wealthy wife, made to look like a robbery gone wrong.On the trail of both is Mac. Though from the same slums as Sailor, Mac decided on a different route and joined the police. He knows that Sailor can put Sen behind bars and wants him to testify in order to get him there. Though Sailor is aware that this is the right thing to do, he needs the money from Sen more.Over the space of a few days, the three characters collide with one another at regular intervals in a clumsy dance, one advancing as the other retreats, continually surrounded by the swirling colors, sounds, and smells of the festival.Ride the Pink Horse is a highly visual piece of crime fiction, and one that illustrates exactly why Hughes received numerous awards for her work.