When Mafouz dies, his partner Diab seizes his share, which leaves Mahfouz's family living in poverty. Gawdat, Zahra's fiancé, sleeps with her after she surrenders in the hope that they will get married quickly, but his mother forces him to leave Zahra after their financial situation deteriorates.
Qinawi, a physically challenged peddler who makes his living selling newspapers in the central Cairo train station, is obsessed with Hanuma, an attractive young woman who sells drinks. While she jokes with him about a possible relationship, she is actually in love with Abu Siri, a strong and respected porter at the station who is struggling to unionize his fellow workers to combat their boss' exploitative and abusive treatment.
The film deals with the story of the Khazraj and the Aws and the relations and wars between them and the Jews, and the Jews’ attempts to deal with Islam and Muslims, and to convince the pagan boy Hisham to carry out a plot against the Muslims, so that he can marry his beloved Lamia, whose father refuses their marriage due to his extreme poverty.