Nazarín is the priest who leaves his order and decides to go on a pilgrimage. As he goes along subsisting on alms, he shelters a prostitute wanted by the police for murder. He is released from suspicion and she eventually catches up with him when she escapes imprisonment. Another woman joins the duo and soon the ex-priest is learning more about the human heart and suffering than when he wore robes.
A humble provincial writer who wants to publish his first book offers it to a film producer who is looking for locations for a film at that time. The novelist's family then moves to the big city, where they will have to face many adversities that will make them wish they had never left their village.