Francisca, a restless 19-year-old girl, lives with her family in the small town of Tocopilla, in the Atacama Desert, Chile, where they own a little gas station. Francisca dreams of leaving for the big city, but she needs to take care of her brother, Diego, a 8-year-old boy with autism and unable to speak. Francisca allows Diego to have private classes with Fernando, the school's new teacher, who promises to use new pedagogical methods to help the child. But, just as the earthquakes that shake their town, Fernando becomes a threat inside the house.