

He believes in the idea of an agent of destruction that embodies this mentality, one that a man would have to risk his soul confronting. Bell realizes that his worldview is dated, and likely fundamentally different from that of others near the Mexico-US border in 1980.

He recalls a time when a man who is now being put to death based on Bell’s own testimony killed a 14 year old girl, and though it was described as a ‘crime of passion’ by investigators, he told Bell there was no passion involved. The novel opens with a monologue from protagonist Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, detailing an experience from his time as a sheriff. The plot of the novel follows the experiences and thoughts of three central characters, Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, hunter and Vietnam veteran Llewelyn Moss, and psychopathic hitman Anton Chigurh, tracing how their paths intersect over the course of a series of highly disturbing and violent events.
