An army captain in Argentina learns why his lonely men are deserting to an outlaw's gaucho gang.
In a small town, the administrator, confronted with the baker, forbids his children fto talk with those of the baker, and vice versa. One day, Paco and Pablo, the baker's children, listen to two builders who plan to kidnap Mary, the daughter of the administrator. Children decide to keep the secret and save the girl themselves. Meanwhile, a young teacher arrives to the village with his wife and kids get back to school. But the administrator's wife is furious because it is not her brother the one who gets the job and, along with her husband, will try to convince everyone to get rid of the teacher.
The story is told from the first-person perspective of an unnamed narrator, who recounts the events of a particular night at a Villa Santa Rita bar and brothel. The clientele, including the narrator, spend the evening drinking and dancing the tango. Their festivities are interrupted by the arrival of a formidable stranger in black.
