Tortilla Flat is the area between Monterey (California) and the woods on the hills behind Monterey.  It's the area where the Paisanos live, a people who have lived in California for many centuries, and who mix Mexican, Spanish, and Indian with "assorted Caucasion bloods".  Danny is one of them.  All his life he hasn't owned anything more than the clothes he was in, but that is okay, friendship and a good gallon of wine are more important than any possession can be.  But when he came home from the war with Germany -a war he spent in Texas breaking mules- he learned that his grandfather had died and left him two houses. 

Danny has some friends that are less fortunate than he is, and one after the other they join him in his house.  He'd like to have some but he doesn't expect any rent, and neither do they expect to be reminded of it.  Tortilla Flat tells the stories of Danny and his friends, how they constantly look for ways to get wine, how they do their best to do something nice to their neighbours, how they survive the Paisano way.

The book consists of a good handful of shorter stories, all experiences of one or a few of Danny's friends.  And though one could easily argue that they're all dirty lazy bums that would only work if there's no other way to get a gallon of wine, one cannot help but feel a deep sympathy for these men.  No matter what they do, their plans at least start with the benefit of someone else in mind, and nothing is more important to them than friendship.

The stories tell a heart-warming tale that is sometimes funny, sometimes almost philosophical, and from beginning to end a light and joyful read.