Cesar Cachelin, a ministerial clerk, lives for the day he expects to receive his inheritance when his sister, Carlota, dies. He also intends to raise his social standing by marrying his daughter to a young man of promise. The young people marry, Carlota dies, and the will becomes known...

Based on the famous story by Guy de Maupassant, the tale was selected by ihe director because he thought that the writer's satire, although written a hundred years ago. could be perfectly placed in our time, when Ihe symbols of prestige used in the race to the top, signal material achievements.

The characters of the film are sterile, ambitious people, blinded by their own personal problems — are set against the background of the Buenos Aires of 1962- 3, when there was warring between military cliques.