A Panamanian cargo ship docks at night at a dock on the Guadalquivir River. José, chief officer of Italian origin, is on duty on the ship. Carmen, an attractive gypsy from Granada, who works in Seville with a gang of tobacco smugglers, comes up on deck and begins to dance to distract the attention of the men on board, thus allowing her cronies to unload the merchandise from the ship. However, the police discover the operation and intervene. Carmen manages to flee from the investigations thanks to the protection of José, who falls madly in love with her.[2]