Julio is a small boy in Mexico who loses his mother. As she is dying, she promises him that she will send him an angel to take care of him. He is put in an orphanage that is nothing more than a work house. Julio escapes and meets up with some street-wise kids and they go around stealing wallets and purses from the tourists around town. Julio is remembering his mother's promise while praying at the church and a man appears as he is leaving. The man's name is Angel. Julio begins to follow Angel around and eventually they become friends and Julio moves in with Angel. Meanwhile, the owners of the orphanage are looking for Julio and continue to search for him throughout the movie. During Day of the Dead festival, Angel teaches Julio how to honor the dead as they honor Angel's wife. She has no gravestone, but they outline her grave with candles and play her favorite music. Finally, Julio convinces Angel to arrange an "escape" of his friends at the orphanage in order to take them to the Christmas fair. While having fun at the fair, the orphanage owner catches up with Julio and threatens to take him back to the orphanage. Angel comes to his rescue, and in the ensuing fight, Angel is stabbed with a knife. In the final scene 10 years later, Julio, who is now a soldier, visits the grave of Angel. Julio remembers him with candles, lavish gravestone and the music that Angel played for his wife.