Two large families–complete with middle-aged boozers, noisy children, servants and pets–spend a torpid summer together in a faded resort town in Northwest Argentina. The swimming pool is filthy, broken glass litters the deck–from one drink too many, sullen teenagers abound, and the lush vegetation surrounding the house looks as though its about to make its move. Soon the crowded, rough-and-tumble domestic situation strains everyones nerves; repressed family mysteries are exposed and the tensions laid bare by the long, hot summer threaten to erupt into violence.