In a coastal city in the north of Spain, where industrial development has made it grow out of control, Santa (Bardem) and others affected by the reconversion walk the streets every day, looking for ways out of their precarious situation. They are end-of-month tightrope walkers, without a net and without an audience, without applause at the end; they live on the tightrope of precarious work and survive thanks to their small joys and routines.