Chala is an 11-year-old with an attitude problem and a difficult life. When his teacher Carmela, the only person who Chala respects, takes a short leave of absence, her substitute sends the boy to a rehab centre. Upon her return, Carmela tries to correct the situation, but her commitment will put them both at risk.

A spirited, septuagenarian schoolteacher becomes the target of an official witch hunt when she mounts a campaign to have one of her young students released from a government "re-education facility," in this daring drama from Cuba that has galvanized domestic audiences with its tackling of taboo topics.