Guerrero, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, crosses the border into the United States in search of his family. After arriving in San Diego, California he meets organized crime boss Gino Santoro, who offers him lodging, a job, and help in finding his family. There is only one condition... he must fight in an underground Cage Fight tournament and only the strong will survive!
As in the novel of the same title from Camilo Jose Cela, "La Colmena" is a sad composition with the stories of many people in the Madrid of 1942, just the postwar of the spanish civil war. The main theme of the film is the contrast between the poets, surviving close to misery under the Franco's regime, and the winners of the war, the emerging class of the people that makes easy money with illegal business.
Laura, a pianist who has left home to flee her abusive husband, meets Marta, a vedette with whom she will work on the preparation of her new show.
Betrayed by his girl and best friend, thief Harry Chapman takes the fall for a racetrack robbery. While in prison, he is offered a chance to participate in an escape plan. What he doesn't know is that once he is on the outside, the group responsible for the prison break has Harry in their debt and they use him as a hit-man. Naturally, he grows tired of the job and splits because he is hellbent on getting revenge on the former partners. So the mob puts young hit-man Luc on Harry's trail.