The book begins with a prologue written by an unnamed narrator who claims that even if he knows he will be criticized for what he is about to write, he must do it because he must reveal the truth. He also apologizes in advance for being clumsy and he attributes his incapability of writing properly is because he is a poor boy who did not received a good education. The narrator also claims that he had a certain purpose in mind when he wrote the book but he doesn’t reveal what his purpose is.
In the first chapter, the narrator presents himself as Lazaro de Tormes, a boy born in a poor family and forced to live without a father when his father was exiled for being caught stealing from the mill. His father then dies shortly after in a war started by the Church against a group of African Muslims called the Moors. Lazaro’s mother was then forced to move to another city to look for work but it is implied that for some time, she had to resolve to prostitution to sustain herself and her child. She eventually began working in the house of the Comendador of La Magdalena where she spent her days washing clothes and cooking for the other servants. She remarried in the end with another servant, a black man named Zaide and together they had a child.
After a while however, the family was noticed by their employees and Zaide was accused of stealing food. Because of this, he was punished and he, Lazaro’s mother and Lazaro were forced to leave. Lazaro’s mother began working at an inn and after a while, a blind man came in and asked Lazaro’s mother to give her son to him. Not having another choice, she agreed and the two left town soon.
Living with the blind man is not easy for Lazaro as he is kept hungry almost all the time. To feed himself, Lazaro resolves to steal from the blind man and he soon becomes extremely skilled at it. He also learns how to steal wine from him but he is quickly caught by the blind man. They then travel to a city named Escalona where the blind man prophecies that Lazaro will suffer in the future and he bases his prophecies on various bad omens such as ropes hanging from the ceiling and horns mounted on the wall. The blind man almost kills Lazaro one day when he steals some sausages from him and drinks his wine but he is nursed back to health by the wife of the innkeeper where the blind man and Lazaro where staying. After the incident, Lazaro decides to leave the blind man as soon as he can and an opportunity arises just a few days later. Then, Lazaro tricks the blind man into injuring himself and then he runs away from him.
In the second chapter, Lazaro meets a priest and the priest agrees to take him as a servant. Things are not better with the priest and Lazaro is always kept hungry. The priest however feeds himself regularly using the bread that is supposed to be used in the church during the communion. The only occasion when Lazaro is able to eat is during funerals and he reaches the point where he prays for people to die so he could eat.
Lazaro convinces a tinker to give him the key to the priest’s chest and from that day forwards he eats small amounts of bread from the priest’s chest. Lazaro fools the priest into thinking that mice have eaten the bread and the priest begins to lay traps for the mice he thinks are stealing the bread. The priest becomes angrier as time passes by and Lazaro becomes unable to steal food because the priest protects his chest. Then, one night, the priest discovers Lazaro’s key and realizes what must have happened. Lazaro is beaten and it takes him 15 days to recover. When he does recover, the priest takes him to the street where he found him and tells him to never return.
Lazaro goes to Toledo and for a while he survives through begging. After his wounds heal however, people no longer give him money and instead tell him to find a job. Lazaro is taken as a servant by a squire who finds Lazaro on the streets. Lazaro follows the squire as he goes on with his day but he gets hungrier and hungrier as the hours pass. When Lazaro reaches the squire’s house, he is questioned about his past and told that he will be given food at dinner. Lazaro tries to be patient despite being very hungry and his new master praises him for that. Lazaro take out one of his loafs of bread he got from begging and when the squire sees him, he asks for bread as well and eats it quickly. Lazaro quickly realizes that the squire barely has enough to eat himself and realized that the squire won’t be able to provide for him. Despite this, he sleeps near the squire that night, hungry and discouraged.
The next morning, the squire leaves and tells Lazaro that he must go to the river and bring water and also to tidy around the house. Lazaro does just that but he also goes around the town, begging for food. When the squire returns, the two eat the food Lazaro received and this continues for a few more weeks. Despite knowing that the squire has no money, Lazaro refuses to leave him, considering him worthy of his compassion.
Things become hard for them as the city mayor orders all poor people to leave the town after the crops failed. To avoid being forced to leave, Lazaro stops going in the streets to beg and is feed by some women who live near him. One day, the squire comes home with money and tells Lazaro that in a short period of time, they will leave the house and move to a better place. The two spend their next days eating well and staying inside and during this time, the squire tells Lazaro his life story. That same day, the owners of the house come and ask for rent but the squire has no money to give them. The squire runs in the middle of the nights and Lazaro is asked about his whereabouts. After the landowners reach the conclusion that Lazaro is not responsible for the squire, they leave him alone.
The next chapter is significantly shorter than the previous ones and Lazaro mentions his third master, a friar from a monastery with whom he stayed only for a short period of time before running away.
In the fifth chapter, Lazaro becomes a servant to a seller of indulgences in Toledo. The seller is unsuccessful for a short period of time, with people claiming that the pardons he sold were fake ones. a fight breaks between the seller and a constable and the next day, in order to solve things, the seller holds a sermon at the church. When the sermon is over, the constable appears again, claiming once more that the pardons were fake. The seller prays that God reveals the person who is right and just as he finishes praying, the constable falls to the ground and begins foaming and convulsing. The seller prays for him and his convulsions stop and the constable claims that he was possessed by the devil. Then, the people who witnessed the scene all end up buying pardons from the seller.
Lazaro later reveals that the constable and the seller were working together and that they made a good profit out of it. In the next town, the seller gave away pardons freely because the people were reluctant to buy them. Lazaro presents more tricks used by the seller but while he agrees that his methods were not correct, the seller always treated Lazaro with dignity and gave him enough food.
Next, Lazaro works under a tambourine painter but he suffered under him as well. Next, he worked under a chaplain and after four years, he left him, comfortable with the money he won and the things he was able to buy during that period.
In the last chapter, Lazaro works with a constable but the job is dangerous and he decides to quit after his new mater is almost killed one night. Then, Lazaro decides to find a work in the government, thinking that not harm can come to him there. He works as a town crier in Toledo and then a wine seller. During his time as a wine seller, he is noticed by the archpriest of San Salvador who arranges for Lazaro to marry one of his maids. The pair is happy for a while and are even invited for dinner at the archpriest’s house from time to time.
The book ends with Lazaro mentioning rumors surrounding his wife’s infidelity but he decides to ignore them, claiming that he is happier that way.
