Based on the novels by Colombian writer Mario Mendoza and on the character of detective Frank Molina, the filming of Los Initiados took place in Bogotá. In the saga of Frank Molina, which uses the books Lady Massacre, La melancolia de los feos, El diario del fin del mundo and Akelarre, the story of an alcoholic private investigator who unmasks sinister plots within the underworld of Bogotá is told.
A Scottish orchid farmer visiting her ill sister in Bogotá, Colombia, befriends a young musician and a French archaeologist in charge of monitoring a century-long construction project to tunnel through the Andes mountain range. Each night, she is bothered by increasingly loud bangs which prevent her from getting any sleep.
In the polarized and violent Medellín (Colombia's 'City of Eternal Spring') of the 1970s, doctor Héctor Abad Gómez is concerned about both his children and children from less favored classes. After a devastating loss in the family, Héctor gives himself to the greater cause of public health programs for the poor in Medellín to the consternation of the city's authorities.
Julian has always admired his grandfather's power. He grows up with his best friend, Felipe Molina, and a group of boys destined to live with all the advantages of a privileged class. But violence and a mafia mentality transform society, including the habits of Julian and his friends. His games with weapons, seemingly harmless amusements, become a collective nightmare.