During a police round-up, Mercedes witnesses the unjust murder of her son, a working-class man, by a police captain. Refusing to accept the official version of the story - that her son was a criminal - she launches a campaign for justice. Santiago, a young journalist moved by Mercedes's passion and determination, begins to investigate the story of the police cover-up at the risk of his own life. As the investigation develops, the film exposes the depth of Venezuela's corruption.

Shoot to kill

In César Miguel Rondón's adaptation, a different origin story is presented. The fisherman Ismael (Félix Loreto) is unfaithful to his wife Cayita (Ana Karina) with a witch, Carmelina (Ileana Aloma). She swears revenge when she sees Ismael return to Cayita's arms and casts a curse that will cause the fisherman's death, setting his house on fire. Faced with the tragic event, Cayita, frightened, screams and begs the townspeople for help to save her son, who was inside the house when the fire started. Cayita's son dies alongside Ismael. It is then that she, crazed with grief, cries out for her son for eternity.