The plot begins when the Pérez family of country bumpkins arrive from the countryside at the Madrid train station, disoriented, gawking and loaded down with baggage, including a basket of live chickens.

They move in with a relative of the mother in a run down apartment complex that is overrun with hordes of children who do cruel things every time they get a chance, showing that none of them are attending school at that point in Franco's Spain.

However, when he attempts to work in the arduous conditions, he is quickly overcome by the noise and heat of the foundry and faints, losing the job almost immediately.

However, when she actually gets the chance to sing on stage, some ruffians, hired by Don Roque, disrupt her performance and make her look foolish.

Then, Manuel shows up unexpectedly at the door of the love nest, slaps a shocked Tonia hard and cries bitterly while she goes to get her things so he can take her away.

Pili still demands that he steal from trucks, but the rest of Don Roque's gang refuses to accompany him and El Mellao tips off the authorities that Pepe is about to try it without them.

The picture only escaped censorship because José María García Escudero [es], Spain's Chief of Cinematography, appreciated the value of the film for its artistic merit.

[citation needed] The film dealt with issues virtually unseen in Francoist Spain, including rural migration into the cities, poverty, prostitution, unemployment, and class conflicts.

The Catholic Church considered the film "deeply dangerous," yet political observers labeled the drama of "national interest."