During a one-day layover in Buenos Aires, Jaime Lara, Héctor Cataruzza, a passenger, elopes, leaving his wife on board, and wanders the neon-lit city at night where he encounters a beautiful yet frivolous hooker, Isa. They drift from a bar to Isa’s home, and Jaime would rather talk and connect with her than rush toward physical closeness. The mood is intimate and tentative, as he balances longing with hesitation, while Isa navigates the pull of his promises with a wary hope.
Meanwhile, the captain of another ship, Cristian, Eduardo Berri, is determined to find Isa and settle a score. In a drunken moment, he crosses paths with Isa’s neighbor and fellow prostitute, Tita, Matilde Bhor, who becomes infatuated with him. This creates a tense triangle off to the side of Jaime and Isa’s fragile connection, adding layers of danger and desire to the night.
Jaime and Isa roam the city and even stop at a clothes shop, where fate nudges them toward a surprising opportunity. They have a chance encounter with a group of actors who are short of two people for a rehearsal. When Isa tries on a gown, the troupe eagerly invites them to join the performance. They are introduced to their ringleader, Pamela, Cecilia Lezard, a pompous impresario who hosts a private rehearsal for a few discerning critics. The pair rise to the challenge, delivering a performance that shines even as they read from the script, and Pamela praises their talent before sending them off to an extravagant hotel for a reward.
Isa refuses Jaime’s advances, choosing instead to savor the growing closeness and the possibility of a life together away from the ships. The next day, they stroll along a riverside park, and Isa, unaware that Jaime has a wife waiting on the ship, probes his unease with questions he dodges. He reassures her with a firm, hopeful promise: he will never leave her, and they will both move to the countryside. For a moment, Isa experiences happiness she has long sought.
Back in Isa’s world, they return to her home, where the distant bellowing of the ship keeps drawing Jaime away from the moment. Tita appears and invites Isa to come down to her apartment, drawing Isa deeper into the complicating web of relationships that envelop them.
Cristian confronts Isa in Tita’s place, telling her that he has changed and asking her to return to him. Isa, torn between loyalty and longing, declines and returns upstairs to find that Jaime has abandoned her and returned to the departing ship. Tita, having overheard Cristian’s plea to Isa, shoots herself dead with Cristian’s revolver. A steward arrives, removing Cristian back to his ship, leaving Isa alone with the echo of recent choices.
In the final, quiet scene, Isa remains where the city has always left her—waiting on the margins, ready to offer herself to the next moment of need. As the screen fades to black, she carries the bitter memory of Jaime’s whispered promises of love and devotion, a haunting reminder of what might have been and the cost of longing.
