The film explores the tragic impossibility of a war veteran to re-integrate into civilian life. Twenty-three-year-old Santiago returns home to Peru, weary from years of jungle fighting and searching for hope. But his native Lima has become a less than welcoming place. Unable to get a job or credit or to afford an education, misunderstood by his family, wife and friends whom he finds decadent and distant, Santiago's estrangement from an increasingly hostile and chaotic world deepens, as his anger and frustration rise. Through a powerful and original style of narration, the film vividly examines the effects of war upon those who carry it out.