Sister Bertrille arrives at Convent San Tanco in Puerto Rico, where the constant swirling winds around the convent give her the power to fly. This news is greeted with alarm by the strict Mother Superior, and with curiosity and amusement by her fellow nuns Sister Jaqueline, who becomes Sister Bertrille's mentor, and Sister Sixto, a nun who continually fights a losing battle with the English language. While at the convent Sister Bertrille also makes an unlikely friend in Carlos Ramirez, a wealthy playboy bachelor who was raised by the nuns as a young orphan.