This is the first of the Border Trilogy, but they are three stand-alone novels that can be read in any order. They have in common being set on the Texas-Mexico border and offer a reflection on Mexican culture compared to that of Texas. This novel, set in 1949 in the Texas-Mexico borderlands, focuses on the character of John Grady Cole, a 16-year-old boy, the son of separated parents. This family situation, along with the death of his grandfather, leads him to flee to Mexico in the company of his friend Lacey, and there they become involved in harsh and violent situations. They work as horse "tamers" in a large Mexican hacienda where Spanish customs and Madero's revolution live on. There, John falls in love with the hacienda owner's only daughter, which leads to a Romeo and Juliet-like drama. The peculiarity of this novel is that the protagonists (or, rather, the author through the mouths of these characters) expose existential doubts such as: "Have you ever thought about death?" "Do you believe that there is a heaven?" "I like to think that God is here." "Do you ever pray?" The "beautiful horses" in the title is because horses play a very important role in this novel. McCarthy helps the reader appreciate the "loveliness" of horses.