Set in Galicia in northwest Spain--an area famed for its beauty and smuggling--this film shows a once-thriving fishing and shipbuilding culture fallen on hard times. Feisty, street-smart Lena, 18, lives in semi-penury with her hard-drinking slob of a father, Gorrión, and hopes to escape by getting a grant to study in Portugal. Gorrion is involved with local drug-smuggling mafiosi, including Lena's godfather Gitano, their Portugese Cachero, and strong, silent Milio. One day, Lena returns from her job to find Gorrion badly beaten up: The gang had accused him of stealing. Lena visits the gangsters and offers to help pay off her father's debt by working for them. After Gorrion forgets to deliver Lena's grant papers, a fragile emotional bond develops between Lena and Milio. When they set off to Portugal to do a job, events start to rumble.