When a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York.

A young journalist asks an old artist about the portrait of a naked Indian woman that he has in his study. The artist tells the story of Maria Candelaria, a young Indian woman who was rejected by her own people for being the daughter of a prostitute. She is protected by a young Indian man, Lorenzo Rafael, who has fallen in love with her.