Joaquín Vidriales

Left on the doorstep of a monastery as an infant, Marcelino was raised by the monks. He was well-cared for but lonely and missed having a mother. One day he found a special friend in the forbidden attic, hanging on a cross. A friend that would repay Marcelino's kindness by granting him one heart-felt wish.

Hyacinth, a former matador who lives miserably with his nephew Pepote, receives a letter reminding him that, as agreed a few days before, he must participate in a bullfight to be held that same afternoon.

One unlucky day, a married couple with four children get an eviction notice: the building they live in is to be demolished. The family looks desperately for a new home, which is no easy task in Madrid in the fifties.

Alberto's marriage is a complete failure: his wife Elena is a hard woman influenced by her mother and sister who live with the married couple. Alberto is also experiencing financial problems and hopes for the help of a rich widow who is however interested in his sexual favours. Naturally Elena puts obstacles in his way and everything goes wrong. Alberto decides to change job then and becomes a sweets sales representative. Disillusioned with marital life he also changes his attitude towards women: he tells every woman he meets he is single.

At school, Luca is falsely accused of a prank and wishes he had a father who would defend him in front of the headmaster. His father is dead, but he meets a sea captain who is willing to pretend to be his parent. Then Captain Andrea falls in love with Luca's mother, textile mill worker Maria. Before things go right, Andrea needs to deal with an ex-girlfriend and a smuggling plot.

Lucas, shy and repressed, and sanctimonious Enriqueta are parents of nine children, so he decide to convince her to take the contraceptive pill.

The bullfight is about to begin. On the bill are announced the toreros Ricardo Puente, Juan Carmona and Rondeño II, who will take the alternative. Puente is an old bullfighter, famous in earlier times, who, now bitter and full of resentment, lives with Paloma, a woman who is not resigned to continue being the lover of a man who has fallen into oblivion. Carmona, the fashionable bullfighter, has an important contract to fight in America, but his wife Isabel wants him to reject the offer. Anamaría, Carmona's sister, hopes that her brother will approve her relationship with Rondeño II; but Carmona opposes because he considers him a bad bullfighter. In a fourth, hopeful and exciting plot, a young amateur bullfighter has a plan to sneak into the ring and fight a bull, hoping for public acclaim for his feat of bravery.