A former public-services worker wants to return to his job. In the attempt, he meets wandering people, who seek "parallel ways" of survival in a chaotic socio-political context in Chile, after the 1973 Coup d'état .

A group of left-wing intellectuals take over a building with the purpose of forming a Ministry of Culture, however, the workers oppose the takeover. Intellectuals and workers establish a coexistence pact while waiting for Godoy, a union boss. After conflicts over ideological differences about culture, the takeover dissolves, just when Godoy appears with a totally elitist and apolitical discourse.