The story takes place in San Antonio de Areco, in the Argentina pampas. Fabio Cáceres remembers his childhood as an orphan and his youth working in the field, next to his godfather, Don Segundo Sombra, a solitary gaucho.
A history teacher travels to possess a charge to Esquel, in Patagonia. Along the way he meets a novice teacher and a priest who likes to sing . It includes numerous musical numbers.