Julia, a 25 year-old university student, two weeks pregnant, with no criminal record, is sent to prison. Julia murdered the father of her child. This story addresses maternity, jail and Justice; confinement, guilt and solitude; but above all it deals with Julia and her son, Tomas, born inside an Argentinean prison.

In an inhospitable rural area in North-East Argentina, machismo, destitution and the repression meted out under the military dictatorship sees the birth of the latest daughter born to Antonio, alcoholic woodcutter who anxiously wanted his first son. After the three daughters are farmed out to families in better financial position, he christens the latest one with the name of José, nicknamed Bumbún, and forces her to take on the identity of a boy. Mercedes, hurt by having lost her other daughters, protects the girl and keeps up the lie, constantly threatened by Antonio. Having been forced to act as a boy since childbirth, Bumbún will struggle between whether to accept her fate or to fight to change it.

Lila, a dedicated cleaning staff employee, runs an unofficial cafeteria with her friend Marcela. When she is officially promoted to direct it, tensions arise with Marcela that upset the delicate balance of the office after 30 years of camaraderie.