Professor Hamilton, a naive Nuclear scientist who once thought bombs were good for humanity, realizes his mistake and runs away from his inventions. He hides in Calabuch, a beautiful seaside town where people still believe in humor and friendship.
Fisherman Quino and his wife Juana are very poor and desperate because the town's foreign doctor refuses to treat their son Coyotito, who has been bitten by a scorpion. When Quino unexpectedly finds a magnificent pearl in the sea, Juana senses that the discovery will only bring them misfortune and tries to convince her husband to return it to the sea.
On March 22, four days after returning to his home in Andalusia, Luis de Vargas writes the first of his letters to his uncle and favorite professor at the seminary. He reports that his father intends to fatten him up during his vacation, to have him ready to return in the fall to finish his training for the priesthood. He mentions in passing that his father is courting a twenty-year-old, attractive widow, Pepita Jiménez; his father is fifty-five years old. Pepita had been married for only a short time to an eighty-year-old moneylender named Gumersindo. Luis is not eager to see his father marry again, but he promises his uncle not to judge Pepita before he knows her.
In the ruins of Nim Bis Rub, in Babylon, is a band of smugglers den. There goes Nemsi Kara Ben and his faithful friend. One night, while camping, they surprise three smugglers and, after a hard-fought struggle, manage to reduce them and take possession of the rings that are their trademark. Then they go to Baghdad and there, a character who wears a ring of smugglers, which has seen Kara's, confuses him with one of the band.
Soledad, a maid born in Argentina, works at a Mexican farm. The son of her employer will deceive her, pretending to marry her and leaving her pregnant. When she finds out that she has been tricked, she runs away from the farm. During her flight she meets a group of artists that'll change her life.
A financier decides to take a vacation somewhere where nothing can disturb him. He travels to the south of Spain, to a small village where he lives a primitive life. A chance meeting with a young American sociologist who works to guide women towards a healthier and more comfortable life change the pace of his life.
Rosa gives birth to a child who, by circumstances of life, is given for adoption to a wealthy family who lost theirs during childbirth. Soon, Rosa will be working for the new family of his son and, so, without anyone knowing, will give him all her love.
Alfredo is a cheerful party animal, son of a wealthy man. Alfredo's brother, a young very focused and mature boy, and their father try unsuccessfully to change the profligate lifestyle of Alfredo to remedy the dissolute life of the latter, which, by all indications, is clearly gay.
