After participating in a protest march, a chronically ill miner and his two babbling friends try to make ends meet in the big city of La Paz. As the miner's health inexplicably worsens, a mysterious old woman and a hermit herbalist try to cure him.

Moments before his capture by police, a thief digs a grave to hide a bag of money. Released from prison years later, he returns to retrieve the bag, only to find a shrine to an unknown Saint built directly over his loot, and a brand new village...