A young artist starts a friendship with his neighbour, a criminal who, tormented because of one of his crimes, seeks forgiveness.

Ivan is a kid whose family decides to go back to Chile from New York, after at least a decade away. Ivan of course is not quite the Chilean kid his grandparents would like him to be: he sulks, misses the Opera, finds things odd and ugly, acting like a real "little gringo" (hence the title).

Leyton and his lifelong friend Modesto are both fishermen and as close as brothers, but very different in temperament. The braggart Modesto is a slave to progress, while the more unpretentious Leyton is content with the simple life. Modesto marries Marta, a beautiful young naïf, who longs for the sexual fulfillment Modesto is incapable of providing. And, just as Modesto captures creatures from the sea in his net, it isn't long before the cruel web of destiny entangles Marta and her lover Leyton in a tragic triangle.

The elderly heir of a formerly wealthy and respected Chilean family, Andres, suffers from decadence and solitude. He hires young Estela in order to look after his tiranic and almost crazy grandmother. The differences in class and age don't stop Andres from courting Estela, whose fiancé Mario tries to make some money with the passions of his well-off rival. The suffocating atmosphere of the run-down mansion in the outskirts of Santiago represents the deterioration of the bourgeoisie, and sets the scene for the total collapse of Andres.