The film revolves around a contest held each year in Westport, Connecticut, in which the participants, both serious and foolish, race to collect garbage for a $1000 prize.
A former resident of the town of Peyton Place, now wealthy and powerful, secretly returns to the town and sets in motion a spate of killings designed as revenge for past wrongs.
The good guys, a trio of swordsmen, gradually collect allies, including one by marriage. The groom must depart along with his bride but she must pass 3 tests before leaving.
Don Diego goes to war and his son Don Gonzalo is, in his absence, the new lord of the region. The milling Elvira, one of the mistresses of Don Diego, has a beautiful daughter, Elena, who has the desire of Don Gonzalo.
The life and death of the fictional star Wilma Montesi is reported in the form of a staged newsreel. Excerpts from films of various genres and eras are juxtaposed with "documentary material" about the star's public and private life.