A los catorce años, Nasario cree que su vida es insulsa e injusta. Se siente solo e incomprendido, y el pueblo que lo ha visto nacer se le ha quedado pequeño. Solo hay una salida: echar a andar y marcharse lejos, ir a buscar fortuna y regresar convertido en un hombre de éxito. Ese viaje iniciático lo llevará a los lugares más singulares y a conocer a los personajes más fantásticos. Pero la enseñanza más valiosa no siempre es un tesoro escondido en el camino.

Nasario has always been a rather unappealing boy. He considers that life does not treat him very well and that it is very unfair. At the age of fourteen he goes off on his own to make his living with the intention of getting rich, coming back to the village, buying a lot of land and making his family proud of him. He travels the world for ten years until he returns to the village upon learning of his father's death, somewhat disappointed at not having achieved his goals. But looking out at the horizon from the roof of his houses, he discovers that he already has everything he was looking for there.
The novel shows that happiness is closer to us than we think, and that we must learn to discover the good things in ordinary situations in life. It highlights mutual assistance and solidarity from one person to another as a way of getting ahead in life.