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The novel begins with the arrival of Manuel, the poor young man from the countryside, to Madrid after the death of his father to live with his aunt and her husband. There, the world of the capital opens up before him with all its poverty, harshness, and loss. He tries to find an honest job and starts as an apprentice in a shoe-making workshop, but he fails and is expelled. Then he moves between several small jobs such as small manual workshops and service work, but he remains unable to stay steady in any task. Over time, he gradually becomes attracted to bad companions in the dirty popular neighborhoods where he lives, where he meets a group of homeless boys and small thieves who live on stealing and deception. He finds in them a kind of belonging, but he remains torn between his desire for a decent life and falling into the world of crime.