In a small town in Patagonia (Southern Argentina), a Mapuche Indian chief sets a tourist complex under construction on fire. He denies all attempts to defend himself. Locked up, he waits for the arrival of "Caleuche," the Ship (Nave) of Fools (de los locos), a mythical figure of his ancestral strength which "made" him start the fire. An appointed lawyer (a white woman) comes to the chief's defence, alleging the chief had acted in self-defense as the white man was building commercial structures on the sacred burial grounds of his ancestors, and continued doing so even after heated protests.

Una joven abogada y su marido, que es médico, se instalan en un pueblo de la Patagonia, en el sur de Argentina, donde esperan empezar una nueva vida. Agustín Márquez y su esposa Julia los reciben cálidamente y les ofrecen todo su apoyo. Agustín está construyendo un inmenso complejo turístico. En una noche trágica, un cacique de la tribu mapuche incendia el complejo causando la muerte de Gabriel, hijo de Agustín y Julia. El cacique es detenido y acusado de provocar el siniestro y la muerte de Gabriel. Sin embargo, Laura, gracias a la ayuda de una vidente mapuche, descubrirá la verdad de lo ocurrido...