The Queen of the South (novel)

The Queen of the South or La Reina del Sur is a 2002 novel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte and the source material for the USA series Queen of the South (2016-2021) as well as the telenova Reina del Sur.

## Synopsis

Guero Davila is a pilot engaged in drug-smuggling for the local cartels. Teresa Mendoza is his girlfriend, a typical narco's morra-- quiet, doting, submissive. But then Guero's caught playing both sides, and in Sinaloa, that means death. Teresa finds herself alone, terrified, friendless and running to save her life, carrying nothing but a gym bag containing a pistol and a notebook that she has been forbidden to read. Forced to leave Mexico, she flees to the Spanish city of Melilla, where she meets Santiago Fisterra, a Galician involved in trafficking hashish across the Strait of Gibraltar. When Santiago's partner is captured, it is Teresa who steps in to take his place. Now Teresa has plunged into the dark and ugly world that once claimed Guero's life-- and she's about to get in deeper...

## Plot

Teresa Mendoza is a money changer on the streets of Culiacan, where she meets Guero Davila, a pilot for the Vargas Cartel, his cousin Chino and his wife Brenda. Teresa becomes Guero's girlfriend and moves in with him. Guero is known as "the king of the short run" as he can land his plane on any short run, a very risky maneuver. Guero is the favorite pilot for Don Epifanio Vargas, the leader of the cartel.

Teresa lives with Guero for two years until she receives the call that he is dead and she needs to run as the cartel is coming after her. Teresa has a notebook that Guero left her with the instructions that in case of his death she is to seek out Epifanio Vargas and trade her life the notebook. Teresa engages in a pursuit with the cartel, whereby she gets caught by Gato and Pote, two cartel sicarios. Gato rapes Teresa while Pote tries to talk him out of it, but then leaves the room. Teresa escapes and reaches out to Epifanio Vargas, who accepts the notebook and agrees to help her flee to Spain. Teresa never discloses to Epifanio that she read the contents of the book despite him asking her several times.

Teresa meets Willie Rangel, DEA agent who is looking for Guero's notebook, however she has already traded it to Don Epifanio.

In Mellila, Spain Teresa is sent to work is a prostitute in a bar owned by Dris Larby, a contact of Epifanio’s, who runs shady deals with Spaniards and Moroccans, transporting hashish from Africa into Spain. Teresa does not accept the job offered to her insisting that she is much better equipped to manage the accounts and the money at the bar. Dris Larby gives her a chance and to his surprise she is so good with numbers that she becomes indispensable to his operation and soon gets to meet and befriend other important hashish trade players who frequent the bar. Dris Larby develops a liking for Teresa, however she is not over Guero’s death and keep everyone at a distance until Santiago Fisterra, a Galician speed boat pilot and hashish transporter walks into the bar.

Teresa and Santiago fall in love, however the new relationship is very difficult for Teresa as she has trust issues. She fights her demons regarding Santiago’s absences during drug runs as she is constantly plagued by fears that he will not come back one day and the destiny she ran away from will repeat itself. Teresa leaves the bar employ and moves in with Santiago in a beach house. The couple live there for two years during which time Teresa becomes completely responsible for the finances of the hash transport operation working closely with lawyers, bankers and drug owners who require transport services. Teresa also convinces Santiago to take her on the runs, where she learns to navigate the speedboat as a professional, learns the secrets of the coast, and the art of transporting loads in secret. Santiago, who is a devout boar mechanic, teaches Teresa how to modify the speedboat engines to make them faster to be able to outrun the coast guard boats and choppers.

Dris Larby’s jealousy has not diminished after these years and he sets a plot in motion that puts Santiago and Teresa’s upcoming run in danger. Their boat hits a rock during a chase with the coast guard, whereby Santiago is killed on the spot and Teresa is thrown in the water. She survives and is sent to prison for drug trafficking. Teresa’s heart is broken again and she decides that there will be no more love and men to rule her life.

Teresa serves her two years in prison where she befriends Patricia (Patty) O’Farrel, a rich, beautiful, lesbian socialite of Irish descent, who uses drugs, runs the block in the prison and is doing time for her involvement in the disappearance of half a ton of Colombian cocaine destined for the Russians, during which stunt her boyfriend died. It is rumored that Patty knows the hidden location of the cocaine. Patty opens up Teresa to reading books, learning English and generally increasing her knowledge of the world. Patty gives Teresa the ‘Count of Monte Christo” novel to read and tells Teresa numerous times that the story in the novel is similar to their story. Patty O’Farrel falls in love with Teresa, however Teresa’s feelings continue to be only of deep gratitude and profound friendship. Teresa is released a year earlier than Patty and goes to work as a server in a bar owned by a friend of Patty’s. Upon Patty’s release, the two women meet again and Patty finally discloses to Teresa that she knows the location of the cocaine and that they need to remove it and sell it themselves.

Teresa, who has a very good idea of the dangers associated with stealing the lost coke from the Russians, convinces Patty that their only smart play is to return it to the Russian mafia and to negotiate a percentage for themselves. The women make contact with the head of the Russian mafia in Marbella Oleg Yassikov, where with great danger for their lives, Teresa convinces him to take the coke back and give them a finders fee. Teresa impresses Oleg with her command of math and numbers as well as her detailed knowledge of the hash transport trade where the Russians are yet to make an entry. Teresa assists Oleg and his men in recovering the huge amounts of coke undetected under the nose of the police. Having won the Russians’ friendship Teresa becomes their main transporter of hash and coke by setting up and equipping a legal transport business out of Marbella. She soon branches into transportation for various other drug lords, while remaining a very close friend of the Russians who continue to provide her main security. Teresa and Patty live in a house in Marbella. With the help of the Russians Teresa avenges Santiago's death.

Teresa’s old enemies from Mexico hear her name as she has become an important player in southern Spain and send a crew to take her out. Pote is part of this crew, which gets intercepted by the Russians. Pote manages to convince Teresa that there is no place for him in Mexico and she takes him as her personal guard. Teresa starts an affair with her lawyer Teo Aljarafe, who is married with two children, with the understanding that there are no strings attached. Patty, whose use of drugs and constant partying have escalated and clouded her mind, commits suicide as she cannot overcome the jealousy she feels for Teo. Patty’s death affects Teresa deeply and it is her personal friend Oleg Yassikov, who helps her through this difficult experience.

Teresa is often caught in the media spotlight and the press comes up with a name for her – 'The Queen of the South' or 'La Reina del Sur'. Teresa has caught the attention of the Spanish police and they are circling like vultures around her companies and staff gathering information. The police catch Teo Aljarafe, Teresa’s lawyer, in stealing from her legal businesses and blackmail him into testifying about her illegal activities. Teo agrees to betray Teresa as he is more afraid of her finding the truth about his stealing than of testifying. Oleg, who has never trusted Teo, has him followed and uncovers his betrayal. Teresa finds herself pregnant with Teo’s baby but hesitates to tell him as she has doubts about bringing a child into this world.

In the meantime in Mexico Epifanio Vargas is running for governor of Sinaloa and the DEA is set on preventing a narco boss from taking such a high political office. DEA Agent Willie Rangel arrives and Spain and puts a break in the operation of the Spanish police against Teresa Mendoza as the American government wants Teresa’s testimony against Epifanio to remove him from the political race. The DEA offers Teresa witness protection in exchange. In the conversations between Willie Rangel and Teresa, it becomes clear that Willie made the call to Teresa when Guero died. Willie had been Guero’s handler and Guero had been a DEA undercover agent, whom Epifanio made and ordered killed. It also becomes clear that Teresa had read Guero’s notebook and had known about his real identity from that moment on. Teresa had always known that Epifanio Vargas ordered Guero’s death.

When Oleg tells Teresa the truth about Teo's betrayal, she orders Pote to kill him after she tells him she is pregnant with his child. Teresa understands that if she refuses to testify for the DEA and go under Witsec, the Spanish police will arrest her based on the information Teo has leaked. Teresa accepts to cooperate with the DEA as she believes she is avenging Guero's death by moving against Epifanio.

Teresa and Pote fly to Culiacan, Mexico and Teresa testifies against Epifanio Vargas. Despite the best assurances from the DEA, they are not able to protect Teresa on Mexican soil. After her testimony she and Pote get ambushed by the Cartel soldiers, and Pote dies protecting his patrona. Teresa receives DEA help and is able to survive the shootout.

Twelve years after Teresa ran for her life from Culiacan to Mellila, Epifanio Vargas goes to prison, while Teresa leaves Mexico for a second time but this time for an unknown destination under Witsec. It does not become clear if she keeps her baby.

## Trivia

• Actress Alice Braga is a huge fan of the novel. She carried around a well-worn copy on set and frequently consulted it.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.bustle.com/p/will-queen-of-the-south-return-for-season-4-the-female-led-cartel-drama-has-so-much-story-left-to-tell-11863243