A veteran judge is nominated to the Supreme Court, sparking a fierce battle between opposing sides. As his past comes under scrutiny, accusations and rumors threaten to change everything.
The stories of a Panamanian officer who feels betrayed by his superiors, of a young man from the neighborhood trying to prevent his friends from going out to fight, of a fisherman going through a thousand adventures trying to bury his compadre, of an imprisoned American businessman for conspiring as a CIA agent against the dictatorship and an alcoholic prostitute who cannot escape her past ... all in the middle of the Christmas preparations, just as the US invasion of Panama begins.
This beautifully integrated, multi-threaded narrative seamlessly interweaves six stories set in radically different locations across Central America, ranging from the tropical forests of Guatemala to the skyscrapers of Panama City. When a solar storm leaves the region without power, myriad dramas unfold over the course of five days during which all conveniences of modernity are stripped away. In Costa Rica, a pastor and his daughter worry for the future of their church, while in El Salvador, a grandmother and grandson make an arduous journey into the city. A husband and wife reconnect in Honduras, as a young couple nurses a mysterious stranger back to health in Guatemala. Meanwhile, in Nicaragua, a young woman prepares for her quinceañera and in Panama, a housekeeper grows exasperated with her demanding employer.