Peru has a long history of earthquakes; when the Incas and their Sun God were defeated by the Spanish the people of Cuzco turned for protection to an effigy of Christ given to them by their conqueror, Charles V.

The film follows the annual procession of this 'Lord of the Tremors' through the streets of Cuzco and illustrates the story with an eye-witness account of the earthquake of 1970 when whole towns were obliterated.