British citizen Kate Benson (Vanessa Redgrave) is a new filmmaker who has come to Argentina to film a story based on the experiences of a woman whose husband became one of the "disappeared ones" during the time when Argentina was ruled by a military junta. As she attempts to film her story, she learns that Silvia Cassini (Ofelia Medina), whose story it is based on, is alive, has remarried, and is living in Buenos Aires. Kate would like to visit her to better understand how to translate her story into film. However, Silvia is not interested in reliving the past for any reason or set of reasons. As the story proceeds, we see through flashbacks just what Silvia is trying so hard to forget.