In Mexican Revolution times, a guerrilla general and his troops take the conservative town of Cholula, near by Mexico City. As the revolutionaries mistreat the town's riches, General Reyes falls for beautiful and wild Beatriz Peñafiel, the daughter of one of the town's richest men.
A young journalist asks an old artist about the portrait of a naked Indian woman that he has in his study. The artist tells the story of Maria Candelaria, a young Indian woman who was rejected by her own people for being the daughter of a prostitute. She is protected by a young Indian man, Lorenzo Rafael, who has fallen in love with her.
Las Islas Marias stars Pedro Infante as a man who must face time in jail, even though he never committed the crime. While on the inside, he learns important life lessons that actually make him a better man.
