Lorenzo is a young man returns to Spain after spending some time in England, where he fell in love with Berta, the daughter of Spanish immigrants. Lorenzo writes several letters to her trying to convey the beauty of the world her parents left behind.
San Ginés de la Sierra is a small village lost in the mountains in southern Spain. It is known throughout the region for two peculiar characteristics: its "persistent" drought and a "Home of the Vanquished". This "home" is an institution that houses some twenty old people, to whose care are eleven nuns and crosses a distressing economic situation. The nuns are desperately seeking a solution and decide to hold a charity bulls run.
