Seville, Spain. Juan Santos, a convicted petty criminal, gets out of jail for a day to celebrate with Triana, his wife, the first communion of their daughter Estrella.
The film begins with some sequences related to the youth of Dr. Ricardo Gutiérrez, his arrival in Buenos Aires from his native Arrecifes, his law studies and a double frustration, as a writer and in his crush on a young woman who loved another man.
After her husband dies, Nieves inherits his job as the super of a decaying apartment complex in New York City. But the job becomes more difficult than she anticipated when she discovers a disturbing secret in one of the units.