In a brothel in San José, a one-eyed child is born, who is consequently named Polyphemus. The prostitutes hide the boy, and Jerónimo, a former monk and brother of the brothel cook, takes care of him and teaches him about the world as he knows it from learned books. With a baseball cap over his eye, Polyphemus sets off into the city and plays with the street children. Now Jerónimo is also ready to be taken along by Polyphemus, and together they wander through the streets and markets, the monk and the child.