Alfonso is a man in search of missing gold left buried all over Paraguay during the years of the country's war against Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay in the 19th Century. He actually finds treasure, but with it comes misfortune, and soon he finds himself pennyless and working as a trash recycler, living in poverty but peace. Then the gold comes within his reach again, and tragedy comes back to haunt him.

Set around 1910 in the Chaco region, the film depicts the plight of quebracho woodcutters, cruelly exploited by English businessmen with the support of the authorities, local police, and a paramilitary force established by the employers themselves.