Suspected of murder, fifteen year-old Ramón Fortuna is held in a detention centre. He feels as if he has woken from a dream, a dream lived in Vallecas, a working-class neighborhood in Madrid. His childhood is over. His mother and sister have dedicated their lives to him; now, although convinced of his innocence, they are powerless. His lawyer Marcelo - another son of El Barrio - is reluctant to take the case, happier to sever all ties with his secret past and a love long lost.

When Chelo Zamora, middling singer, agreed to spend the summer working in restaurants in the Valencian beach Cullera, could not imagine being reunited with Toni, a guy who shares a dark past. Moved by his desire for revenge, Chelo attempt to ruin his life: get him to break with his girlfriend Esther, who loses his job and returning the police on her trail.