Benny O'Malley is a young hustler who is thrown from a moving train. The first person he encounters is Jesse, a gardener who dreams about Tanya--a married woman working as a barmaid to support her ex-baseball player husband, Henry, who limps from a broken knee. A devout Catholic, Henry prays every day for a miracle to heal him, hobbling up the hill to the old Spanish mission where Father Sanchez despairs of finding the $130,000 needed to save his earthquake-damaged church from being torn down. Tanya discovers Henry's secret bank account, from an undisclosed insurance settlement. Shocked and hurt when Henry adamantly refuses to touch the money, Tanya enlists the help of Benny, who devises a scam that involves the innocent participation of the lovesick Jesse.