Magnificent Treasure: Tesoro Rico begins with Gaspar Saenz-Rico sailing for the Americas to start a new life of success and adventure. He lands in Vera Cruz, New Spain and with a great deal of effort becomes very successful and wealthy. He has several children and attempts to set them up with a good life and career despite the nefarious schemes of the Catholic Church. One of those children is Francisco and he eventually marries and has a son named Vicente. Because his family has moved from Vera Cruz, Vicente is raised on the western side of New Spain and becomes a soldier for the king upon attaining adulthood, choosing saddle making as his specialty in the military. He marries a young girl named Guadalupe and they both decide to move to the new area called California del Norte. He becomes a sergeant and finds himself in skirmishes with the Indians that refuse Spanish intimidation and eventually succumbs to both Indian resistance and a local disease. But, along the way to California Guadalupe is delivered of a son and they name him Francisco, after Vicente's father.After Vicente death, Guadalupe eventually remarries an otter hunter named Teodoro Gonzalez. After Teodoro gains some financial success with otter hunting, he is then bestowed a land grant and begins to raise cattle. Little Francisco considers him his father for all intents and purposes and helps Teodoro run the ranch until he reaches adulthood. At about that time, American takes an interest in California and comes to "conquer" it. Francisco is placed third in command of the Californio army, such as it is, and fights steadfastly until the superior forces of the United States finally defeats them. Just as the United States takes over California and makes it a state, gold is discovered and Francisco becomes a 49er. He is quite successful and becomes a rich man from the gold he finds. Unfortunately, the flood and subsequent drought of 1862 through 1864 ruin his cattle raising efforts and he is driven to total bankruptcy, from which he never recovered. He also has many personal family losses and returns to practicing his beloved practice of Medicine, which he had previously also done before the Americans came upon the scene. These losses drove him to deteriorating health and he passed from this life at the very end of the 1800's, but not before leaving a legacy of seven sons, one branch of which will be visited in the second book called 'Rich Treasure: Tesoro Rico'.