Brash young Spanish peasant Juan Gallardo (Tyrone Power) aspires to follow his dead father's footsteps into the bullring, despite his mother's fears. Bidding his childhood sweetheart Carmen (Linda Darnell) farewell, Juan and his friends travel to Madrid to learn the bullfighting craft. Years later, when Juan's fame as a matador soars, he returns to Seville to marry Carmen. Soon, Juan's head is turned by the elegant temptress Doña Sol De Muira (Rita Hayworth), and his career takes a turn.