In 1980s Peru, a dyslexic drug trafficker and grade school dropout and a wealthy, famous playwright labeled a terrorist for his play about killing the president form an unlikely relationship as cellmates in the notorious Collectors Prison of San Jacinto. The playwright convinces the men in their block to stage a performance of the play that landed him in jail, bringing a sense of comradery and unity; however, months after his release, he learns that the entire block, including his lover, was killed in the military suppression of a prison revolt.