Matilde's dad is always on business trips, bringing her gifts and sweets that you can't buy at the corner store in his native Santiago. Matilde's dad is often away for work, so he misses all the parent-teacher conferences. Matilde's dad is an engineer and builds bridges in other countries. He can't return, but Matilde visits him whenever she wants. Matilde repeated this fictitious story so often that she memorized it and began to believe it herself. But the truth about her dad's disappearance is terrible and dangerous; she mustn't tell anyone about it, ever. Matilde's mother and grandmother try their best not to deprive her of a carefree childhood and not involve her in adult affairs, but Matilde can't stay away, even though she desperately wants to live a normal life like other children.