Eloy, Civil Guard Lieutenant, is obsessed with counterterrorism. A democrat and an adventurer, he volunteers for the Intxaurrondo Headquarters in San Sebastián, a city where machine guns, shots to the back of the head, car bombs, and mortar strikes are commonplace.

Aware of the escalation of his relationship with Begoña, Eloy tries to keep his distance after visiting his wife, Mercedes, in Madrid. Upon his return to San Sebastián, he is welcomed by a series of terror attacks and funerals for his colleagues, sending him back into the arms of the boarding house's young owner for comfort.