Cities of the Plain is a 1998 novel by American author Cormac McCarthy. The novel is the final entry in a trilogy that began with All the Pretty Horses, followed by The Crossing. The protagonists from each of the previous novels return for Cities of the Plain. This guide uses an eBook version of the 1998 Knopf edition of the novel.

Plot Summary

John Grady Cole (the protagonist of All the Pretty Horses) and Billy Parham (the protagonist of The Crossing) work together on a cattle ranch near the border between Mexico and the United States. One night, they visit a brothel in Juarez, Mexico, and most of the men purchase the services of the local sex workers. John Grady stays alone at the bar. An attractive young Mexican teenager catches his eye. Though he is fascinated by the girl, he does not approach her. He continues to think about her as the men return across the border to the ranch where they work.

John Grady and Billy work for a man named Mac McGovern. However, the surrounding plain area is subject to interest from the United States military. The military aims to purchase the land, thereby removing the ranches and slowly wiping out the lifestyle of the cowboys who work on the ranches. Billy joins another cowboy named Troy on a trip to visit Troy’s brother Elton. They visit Elton’s ranch and have dinner with his wife. On their return to Mac’s ranch, they discuss whether they could work for Elton or whether their cowboy lifestyles can continue in a rapidly changing world. On the way home, they stop to change the tire of a car belonging to a group of Mexicans. After, their windshield is shattered by a low-flying owl.

John Grady continues to think about the girl. He returns to Juarez and discovers that her name is Magdalena. However, she is no longer at the brothel. After searching many places, he learns that Magdalena is now working in a more upmarket, more expensive brothel named the White Lake. John Grady spends every dollar he has for a night with Magdalena. The night only confirms what he already knows: He loves Magdalena and wants to marry her. However, he worries that the man who runs the brothel will not accede to his desire. The White Lake is run by Eduardo and his subordinate Tiburcio. John Grady does not know that Eduardo is also in love with Magdalena. He also does not know that she has epilepsy and her occasional fits are violent and—to the other women in the brothel—a superstitious sign.

While working on the ranch, John Grady enlists his friend Billy to help him save Magdalena from Eduardo’s brothel and bring her back to the United States. He plans to marry her and live in a small cabin on the plain. Billy reluctantly agrees to help his friend. He visits the White Lake and offers $2,000 to Eduardo if he allows Magdalena to leave. Eduardo insists that the girl is not for sale, and Billy returns empty-handed across the border.

Months pass on the ranch, and the cowboys continue to work with the cattle and horses. They chase down a pack of wild dogs that has been killing cattle. John Grady finds the wild dogs’ litter of puppies and takes one home to raise himself. He remains determined to marry Magdalena. He asks Mac’s permission to renovate the small cabin on the plain and spends months repairing the home until it is hospitable. Aware that he needs money, John Grady also pawns his grandfather’s pistol and sells his prized horse. He uses the money for bribes, allowing him to secure a green card that will allow Magdalena to live in the United States. He visits her regularly, and she confirms her love for him. They make a plan for her to escape the White Lake and travel across the border with the help of John Grady’s friends.

Magdalena continues to live in the White Lake. Her epileptic fits persist, and after one terrible seizure, she wakes up in the hospital and must stumble home through the dark streets of Juarez. On the morning that she is scheduled to escape the White Lake, she leaves the brothel before dawn. She walks to a café and waits for the man sent by John Grady. A different man arrives and assures her that he can be trusted. The man drives her to a secluded place where Tiburcio is waiting for her.

John Grady waits for Magdalena to arrive in the United States. When she does not appear, he travels to Juarez and searches for her. He finds her body in the morgue. Tiburcio slit her throat. John Grady stumbles out of the morgue, distraught and unsure of what to do. Billy searches for his friend in Juarez. He goes to the White Lake and beats Tiburcio in a fight. He threatens Eduardo, who is unmoved by the threats. Billy leaves and goes to the police. Then, he returns to Mac’s ranch.

Armed with his knife, John Grady searches for Eduardo in Juarez. He confronts Eduardo and challenges him to a fight. The two men duel with knives. Eduardo, the more skilled fighter, inflicts many wounds on John Grady. However, before Eduardo can finish the fight, John Grady drives his knife up through the Mexican’s jaw. Eduardo dies, and John Grady staggers away, collapsing in a parking lot and paying a young boy to telephone the ranch for help.

Billy receives the telephone message. He rushes to Juarez and finds John Grady. Though Billy tries to help his friend, John Grady dies from his wounds. Billy plans for the funeral and then leaves Mac’s ranch. He spends the next decades wandering the American South, searching for whatever work he can find. However, his old way of life is mostly gone. By 2002, Billy is elderly and homeless. He spends a night under an overpass and shares a long, abstract conversation about dreams and fate with a man whom he initially mistakes for death. Billy continues to wander. Eventually, he finds a family who takes him in. He teaches the children to care for their horse and sleeps in a shed room in their home. Each night, he dreams about the people he has lost.