The film portrays the harsh reality of life during Chile's "Nitrate Era" (1880-1929) for the working class, where efforts to form workers' unions were violently suppressed.
Set in a mining town in northern Chile, the Marusia massacre of 1925 unfolds. Government authorities sanction brutal violence against mine workers to maintain control for foreign companies exploiting resources. Despite some workers' resistance, the town is ultimately destroyed, and its residents are exterminated.
