Karen Harrison is a spoiled, rich, American predator who falls head-over-heels for the brooding, tormented, about-to-retire matador, Luis Santos who has inexplicably run away prior to a corrida that was to occasion the "alternativa" of a young, up-and-coming bullfighter.

When the seductive Frenchwoman Geneviève Dupré, secretary to a Spanish businessman, travels to Madrid to announce the death of her boss to his brother, the famous bullfighter Mario Montes, it's love at first sight. Set in Spain, this melodrama is full of light, betrayal and blood, and takes place in the murky world of bullfighting.

An American takes up bullfighting to impress the ladies but learns to respect the sport.