Busqueda Peligrosa is the search for a missing smuggler in the Sierra Madre of 1971. In this time before drug cartels and cell phones, much of the area is remote and lawless. Neil Burton is mourning the loss of Kelly Sanders, the love of his life. Six months earlier against his wishes she piloted a plane into Mexico on a smuggling run but failed to return and he is left longing for answers. Now Carla Villareal, the beautiful and charismatic owner of a skydiving school, asks him to help find her boyfriend, Felix Hierra, who has also failed to return from a smuggling flight. Neil and Carla's vulnerability leads them into a torrid affair but Carla's undeniable sense of loyalty drives her on with the search. Despite the ill-maintained airplane Carla has arranged to use, Neil agrees to help, for in addition to his passion for Carla, he is indebted to Felix for rescuing two of his friends. Max, a friend of Felix, knows the area where the smuggler was headed and warns Neil and Carla that they have "una busqueda peligrosa," a dangerous search, ahead of them. In Mexico they learn that Max's warning is dead on.