A small Spanish town is divided between the upper and lower parts. The poor and the less-poor parts of the pueblo. In the 'upper' part, all the women are barren. Juan from the 'lower' part falls in love with Luz, a pretty girl from the upper side: a girl who must of course be barren. The lower town has orchards and a spring. The higher reaches of the town has only rubble. The men of the town make their miserable income from cutting and burning wood to make charcoal. In the forest, the man must fight Lucas, a rival, for the girl with the only weapons to hand. Axes.