Well-to-do idler loses his fortune, ends up going to night-school and working as butler for a wealthy family. Still posing as a rich toff, he courts a young lady who turns out to be the daughter of his employer.
During a conversation between a grandfather and his grandson, the latter tells him the story of the liberator General José de San Martín (1778-1850) from the patriot's childhood, through his stay in Spain, his return to the Río de la Plata, the development of the continental plan and the European exile.
Rich man's daughter throws over her nerdy boyfriend when she gets a taste of the real thing from one of her daddy's construction workers. Meanwhile, there's a crooked labor contractor posing as an agitator and trying to provoke a strike.