Angel lives with his mother and has homosexual inclinations. One day he meets Mirna, a prostitute who has a son. The three try to form a strange family.
A viceroy and an archbishop take their posts in Mexico. A local nun, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1651-1695), intrigues them. The viceroy and his wife find her brilliant and fascinating. The prelate finds her a symbol of European laxity. He engineers the election of a new abbess, severe and ascetic. The virreina visits Sor Juana often and inspires her to write passionate poetry that the archbishop finds scandalous. The viceroy protects her. After he is replaced and returns to Spain with his wife, Sor Juana faces envy and retribution. A bishop betrays her, her confessor humbles her. Plague, a tribunal, and her confession as "the worst of all" end the great poet's life.
Roberto is an insurance salesman who dreams of writing his own novel. When he meets Estela, a young woman about to commit suicide, it serves him as material to make this work.
In a city of the too near future, a city designated for desolation, aggression, and political instability, Miguel Galvan (Hugo Soto) is shot accidentally during a demonstration. This time and space provides a back drop to an intriguing sequence of events where three characters try desperately to survive: the wounded Miguel, an antagonistic policeman (Juan Leyrado), and a foolish vigilante smartly acted by cult rock star Charly Garcia of Sui Generis and Serú Girán fame, who also composed the film's score.
A new patient mysteriously appears in a psychiatric ward. He claims to come from another planet to study humans and their behavior. The alien is gentle but criticizes humans for their harsh treatment of each other. The assigned psychiatrist is himself unhappy, and affected by the patient's insight. But he is ordered to treat the patient according to institutional procedure.