Maria Consuelo, a novice who has entered the convent to fulfill her family's wishes, admires flirtatious café singer Juan de Dio, who is attempting to resist the advances of his partner, Lola. After seeing him from atop the wall of the convent, Maria builds up an aura of romance around him. After running away from the convent, she meets Juan, who himself is fleeing from the police after some petty thefts of street vendors. Juan responds to her affectionately and is determined to be her protector. With Esteban, his vocal teacher, Maria, and the kindly La Rumbarita, Juan goes to Madrid to audition for the opera. He is unsuccessful at his audition, but Esteban, even though he feels that Juan does not take life seriously enough to be a truly great singer, pays for him to have a role un an upcoming opera. Having fallen in love with Maria, Juan becomes engaged to her. Meanwhile, the spurned Lola encourages Maria's brother, Capt. Enrique Vargas, to separate the lovers, claiming Juan has taken Maria from the Church. Thinking that it is best for Maria if she returns to the convent, Juan pretends to reject her, and she returns to the cloister. Later, in his debut, a despondent Juan is so grief-stricken that he collapses after a triumphant operatic performance. Weeks later, finally realizing that Juan will only be happy with Maria, Lola appeals to the mother superior, who releases Maria before she takes her final vows. Maria then returns to Madrid and is happily reunited with Juan, who regains his will to live.