Christian is a raising star in world football. He lives isolated, in a luxurious and lonely environment, besieged by fans, under pressure from the media and forced to honour commitments made by his father who acts as his manager. For the first time Christian feels the need to escape.
Mariana doesn’t like her name and starts calling herself Gloria. Her parents split up before she was one year old and today, like many separated couples, they are brought back together under the same roof only because they don’t have a decent job. Cristina, her mother, rents a part of the house to her ex-husband for a bit of extra money. “Francia” talks about those people who will never travel far from their home, where they take refuge, for good or bad, from all disgusting things in the outside world. Meanwhile, Mariana puts on her headphones when she hears her parents fighting. Those fights which now serve as a relief to the helpless.
Jacob van Oppen, the former strongest man on earth, and his manager Orsini, who calls himself "the Prince", make a good living by traveling around small South American towns and organizing wrestling exhibitions. Arriving in Santa Maria, they are met with uncommon enthusiasm, the local newspaper wants to sponsor the fight, helping hands placard the town with posters, and an open call is made for a worthy adversary. Ever so resourceful, Orsini knows how to find the right combatant, but fishing in Santa Maria could lead to a bigger catch than he'd hoped for.