In Spain of the 1960s, a poor family of quinquis - a nomadic ethnic group with a tradition as old as that of the gypsises of Spain but with even more obscure origins - have a nomadic life marked by poverty. The son, Eleuterio Sánchez Rodriguez, nicknamed "El Lute", steals some chickens and is condemned to six months in jail. El Lute moves to the slum outskirts of Madrid with his common law wife, Chelo, starting an itinerant life as a peddler of pots and pans and living in a quinqui shantytown. He gradually embarks upon as life of petty criminality, eventually participating in the theft of a jewelry store during which a bystander is killed.

José is a happily married executive, with children, a flat in Madrid and a house in the suburbs. It's Friday and the weekend seems to follow the usual pattern: football match with mates, travel to the mountains and family visit. Nevertheless, José feels no motivated by his routine, he no longer distinguishes leisure from their obligations, all of which result in an unexpected final decision by his attentive wife.

Juanito, a peaceful fan of bullfighting, has become picador's assistant to see from the same arena the show in which he brags he is one of the protagonists. Furthermore, he believes he has discovered in a neighbor a potential figure of bullfighting sphere.

Paco, a truck driver who has always been dedicated to smuggling, hires Curro as an assistant, a young man wanting to make money without caring about the way to get it. The two drivers are surprised by an offer that far exceeds what they use to perceive: they have to transport illegal immigrants from Portugal to the French border.