Chinatown, San Francisco, 1928. Former private detective Dashiell Hammett, a compulsive drinker with tuberculosis who writes pulp fiction for a living, receives an unexpected visit from an old friend asking for help.

Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on half-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo. It opens in 1972, as the three are members of an East L.A. gang known as the "Vatos Locos", and the story focuses on how a violent crime and the influence of narcotics alter their lives. Miklo is incarcerated and sent to San Quentin, where he makes a "home" for himself. Cruz becomes an exceptional artist, but a heroin addiction overcomes him with tragic results. Paco becomes a cop and an enemy to his "carnal", Miklo.

调查人员阿莱格拉·迪尔（Allegra Dill）重返得州边陲小镇圣耻（Saint Disgrace），誓将妹妹弗莉西蒂（Felicity）之死查个水落石出，不曾想个人缉凶升级为与腐败家乡的全面战争。
剧集由《大群》联合制片安迪·格林沃尔德（Andy Greenwald）开发，与《黑客军团》主创山姆·埃斯迈尔（Sam Esmail）共同执行制作，改编自美国犯罪小说家罗斯·托马斯（Ross Thomas）1984年同名作《荆棘丛》。