The action takes place in 1942 and is concentrated around a small cafe in one of the Madrid quarters. In the book of about one hundred and sixty characters, they appear and, barely touching each other, disappear, picked up by the cycle of life in the giant hive of the city. Some figures are outlined more voluminously and characteristically.

The owner of the cafe, Donja Rosa, is a stout, untidy woman, dressed in mourning and hung with diamonds. She has unhealthy facial skin, uneven blackish teeth, antennae above her upper lip, sausage fingers. At heart, she hates visitors and takes her soul, incessantly baking her servants. The affairs of the greedy and self-serving Dona Rosa are proceeding very successfully, capital is increasing, she prefers to invest it in real estate. Donja Rosa sympathizes with Hitler and worries about the German army, in a vague premonition that she does not dare to understand, the fate of the Wehrmacht is seen by her as related to the fate of her cafe.

The regulars of the cafe - people who think that everything is going as it should and that it’s not worth the effort to try to improve something - think about the miserable, but pleasant and exciting little things that fill or empty their lives. Among the regular visitors to the cafe is Don Leonardo Melendez, a crook, an adventurer, who lures money from simpletons, which is facilitated by his respectable appearance, ability to hang on and speak with aplomb. Protested bills are pouring down on don Jaime Arce, but he does not lose his presence of spirit and prefers not to focus on the unpleasant. The widow of Isabel Montes has been sitting for hours in the corner with a distant look, she recently lost her son, who died of meningitis. Already an elderly senorita Elvira lives than God sends. The trouble that he sends is not very dense, and besides, there is always something overwhelming and worthless. The rights of Don Rosa, Elvira reflects, must meet with the old Don Pablo, even though he is disgusting and a bore, you won’t last long. Draftsmen make fun of the clerk of the court, Don José Rodriguez de Madrid, who was lucky in the lottery. Donja Pura with a friend do not tire of talking about the decline of morals. A wealthy publisher, Don Mario de la Vega, teaches a hungry, ingratiating neighbor - you have to work hard, then there will be a cigar and a glass. Upon learning that Eloy Rubio Antofagaste is a bachelor, he offers him a position as proofreader, only there are no complaints and all kinds of unions there. But Martin Marco does not have the money to pay for coffee, and he is put out the door. The young man graduated from university and is trying to make money with translations and articles in provincial newspapers. He is interested in social problems, but in his head he has a decent confusion. He sleeps with a friend, and in the morning goes to the bank or to the post office, it’s warm there, you can write poetry, pretending to fill out telegraph forms or receipts and receipts. When it is very tight, Martin visits his sister Filo, who pity him and feed him. Her husband Roberto González serves in the assembly of deputies, and in his spare time he works part-time by keeping account books in the perfume shop and at the baker. He treats Martin badly, calls him a tramp and a parasite. The owner of the bar, Celestino Ortiz, is an avid book reader, his favorite book is Aurora Nietzsche, from where he knows whole pieces by heart and quotes them to and from the place. Dairy owner Ramona Bragado is engaged in pandering. Mario de la Vega resorted to her services, who liked the Quiz, working as a packer. The girl was tired and desperate, the printing house was on her feet all the time, the groom was sick with consumption, her mother swore incessantly, commanded everyone, her father was a spineless man, always drunk, you could not rely on him. For the sake of money, the Quiz is ready for anything.

From sketches and sketches, sketches and dialogues, a picture of a dull everyday life, monotonous and devoid of meaning, is formed of mores, deeds, cares, dreams of the heroes of the book.

Out of the ordinary, the appearance in the cafe of Maruhita Ranero, the former lover of an employee of Dona Rosa Consorcio Lopez, whom he had once abandoned, the mother of his two twins, becomes an outstanding event. She brought her husband to Madrid for an operation and tracked down the unfaithful lover, whom she was ready to forgive. Maruhita is now a well-to-do woman, she has a manor, a little land that provides income. My husband’s cancer, he won’t last long. She makes plans for how to buy this cafe and they will heal with the Consortio, as if there were no long years of separation.

A big shock is the killing of the mother of one of the regulars of the homosexual cafe Suarez, the old woman was strangled with a towel in her room. Police arrest a son and his boyfriend on suspicion of murder, and the neighbors raise money to arrange a decent funeral for Senor Suarez. The willingness of others to come to the rescue appears when Martin suddenly has problems with the authorities. True, he still does not know about the troubles threatening him and, visiting the grave on the day of the anniversary of the death of his mother, what time he intends to start a new life.