The medical-technical assistant Marlen and her husband Henning are happily married, but cannot have children of their own. The couple decides to adopt a Chilean girl and, full of hope, sets off for Puerto Montt, where the child lives in an orphanage. Making contact with the reserved girl turns out to be more difficult than expected. When the ice finally breaks, a dramatic incident shocks the happy adoptive parents: Araceli and the other children in the orphanage are taken to the hospital with blue lights flashing. What the home manager thought was a cold turns out to be meningitis. Since the antibiotics administered do not work for some unknown reason, the children's lives are in danger. As an experienced laboratory technician, Marlen finally finds out the reason for the pathogen's resistance: salmon, which is contaminated with high doses of antibiotics, was regularly on the menu in the home. For an effective antidote, Marlen needs one of these fish from the salmon farm of the rich Ignatio Orotava Fuertu. But the influential breeder refuses and does everything he can to cover up the scandal surrounding his rotten fish; Instead, he offers Marlen to help her adopt another child if she lets the matter go.