For more than 20 years, Raquel (Catalina Saavedra) has worked as the hired help for an upper-class Santiago family, the Valdezes, but her tireless devotion has started to wear thin. She begins suffering from painful migraines and sudden fainting spells. But when the Valdezes propose hiring a second maid to relieve Raquel of some of her responsibilities, she takes it as a declaration of war.

One by one the reinforcements arrive, only to meet the full force of Raquel's passive-aggression. Au pair Mercedes is locked out of the house and Raquel violently scours the bathroom after she showers until the young Peruvian girl runs away in tears. Her replacement, a grizzled lifer, puts up more of a fight - literally - only to eventually head for the hills. But the third time proves something like a charm in the form of Lucy (Mariana Loyola), who is either immune to Raquel's offensives or, perhaps, a little bit crazy herself. When Raquel tries the old bathroom-scouring routine on her, Lucy responds by giving her a tearful bear hug; when Raquel locks her out, she seizes the opportunity for some impromptu nude sunbathing on the lawn.

Saavedra goes through one of the most uncanny psychophysical transformations ever seen, without the benefit of obvious makeup or other prosthetics. As Lucy comes into her life, Raquel straightens and brightens and looks at least a decade younger. It is a remarkable performance that won her a special award from the World Cinema Jury at the Sundance Film Festival.