As the whisky priest flees the authorities, he returns to his home village of Concepción. He’s greeted by the mother of his child, Maria, and asks after Brigitta, his daughter. The people of the village are reluctant to harbor him; the authorities have started taking hostages among the villagers in exchange for information on the priest. Maria agrees to shelter him for the night, and he’ll say Mass for the villagers in the predawn hours. Maria encourages Brigitta to speak with the priest. Brigitta asks him if he’s the gringo who is wanted by the police. Although she’s insolent and willful, the priest intervenes when Maria wants to slap her.

His Mass is interrupted by the news that the police are coming. Before the priest has a chance to take his leave, the lieutenant and his men are upon them. All the villagers line up before him. Nobody will confess to having seen the priest or the gringo. The lieutenant questions the whisky priest directly, but Maria defends him, and Brigitta identifies him as her father. The lieutenant decides to take a hostage as an incentive. When the whisky priest volunteers to go in the villager’s place, the lieutenant refuses him.