As a Latin American nation nears collapse under highly organized terrorist movement, idealistic policeman Augustin Rejas (Bardem) faces the greatest challenge of his career: to catch the mysterious guerilla leader Ezequiel. The brains behind the bloody revolution that threatens to bring the government and entire country down, Ezequiel is as elusive as Rejas' superiors are corrupt - an irony not lost on Rejas, who left a career as a lawyer to try to find a more honorable way of practicing the law. The military's response to the brutall tactics of Ezequiel's followers is equally ferocious, creating an atmosphere of mass panic. In the midst of the chaos Rejas finds respite in Yolanda, his daughter's soulfully beautiful ballet teacher. But she, who appears to be a shelter from the storm, may actually be the storm's eye.