A detective with the Guardia Civil arrives in Lecumberri in Navarra on the evening before the "Alzamiento Nacional" or National Uprising of Francoist forces in 1936. He is on the trail of a murderer who has just taken the life of the city council's porter, a staunch Carlist, and enemy of the republican supporting village schoolteacher. All the clues point to the teacher as the murderer, but the detective gets an alternative lead from a young town marshal - who is also the town's baker. This young man's thoughts and actions are inspired by Don Quixote, the only book he has read in his life - repeatedly until committed to memory. The murderer remains at large, influencing events as it suits him.