The plot, based on a true story, follows the tragic fate of Las Trece Rosas, fighting for their ideals in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War.

[2] In Madrid in 1939 during the final days of the Spanish Civil War, Virtudes and Carmen, two young idealistic Republican militants, are encouraging their neighbours to keep faith in the cause of the Second Republic.

Julia, a streetcar attendant, and her friend Adelina, a Red Cross worker, are also active sympathizers of the Spanish Republic.

The first to be arrested is Julia, who, before too long, is being sadistically tortured by the orders of Fontenla, the cold-hearted officer in charge of the interrogations.

Teo has better luck and is eventually released on the condition that he has to secretly help to identify and capture his friends, sympathisers of the Republic.

After suffering heavy police interrogations, the young group of women are eventually transferred to an overcrowded prison.

The fate of the 13 young women is sealed when two military officers and an innocent woman are killed in cold blood by a group of leftist militants.

The final frame of the film asserts that the bulk of the content is verifiable from documentation and that the script relies heavily on actual dialogue or writings from the central characters.

Jonathan Holland of Variety praised the cinematography and art direction, but remarked: "The 13 Roses largely withers on the vine.