Desert ink follows the journey of 8 Mexican tattoo artists from the wrong side of the tracks, whose passion for art and tattooing saved their lives. With identities forged in street furnaces of gang banging, shoot outs, drug dealings, and jail time, this band of men crafted new identities, forming a new type of gang. United by art and their determination to earn a decent living, these sons of migrant workers found the will to break free from the easy temptations and trappings of their nefarious past lives, where their friends and relatives are doing life in prison or 6 feet under.