In the 1940s, Mexico City had a population of 1 million. It is said that life was quite pleasant there in those days. Today Mexico City is a megalopolis of more than 20 million souls. Marcos is the chauffer of the general who supervises the daily flag ceremonies. Marcos picks up the general's daughter Ana at the airport. He is the only member of Ana's household who is aware that she leads a double life. Although a child of Mexico's political elite, she works part time in a rather seedy Mexico City brothel--not for the money but as an act of rebellion and debasement. The intimacy which has developed from sharing this secret with Marcos has become physical. On this particular day, Marcos is troubled. When Ana questions him, he confesses a secret of his own: he and his wife have kidnapped an infant for ransom and the baby has died in their custody. As the police draw closer, Ana urges Marcos to turn himself in. But in the end, he seeks redemption from a higher power. A clash that reminds Marcos of his true station in life, and another death prefigures brings the tortured soul to join a crowd of pilgrims approaching the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.