In an inhospitable rural area in North-East Argentina, machismo, destitution and the repression meted out under the military dictatorship sees the birth of the latest daughter born to Antonio, alcoholic woodcutter who anxiously wanted his first son. After the three daughters are farmed out to families in better financial position, he christens the latest one with the name of José, nicknamed Bumbún, and forces her to take on the identity of a boy. Mercedes, hurt by having lost her other daughters, protects the girl and keeps up the lie, constantly threatened by Antonio. Having been forced to act as a boy since childbirth, Bumbún will struggle between whether to accept her fate or to fight to change it.