María Álvarez, a bright, spirited 17-year-old, lives with three generations of her family in a cramped house in rural Colombia. Desperate to leave her job, María accepts a lucrative offer to transport packets of cocaine, which she must swallow, to the United States. Far from the uneventful trip she is promised, María is transported into the risky and ruthless world of international drug trafficking as she becomes entangled with both drug cartels and immigration officials.
Working in sweat shop-like conditions, stripping thorns from roses at a flower plantation, María's income helps support her family, including an unemployed older sister who is a single mother. But when she becomes pregnant by a man she does not love, and after unjust treatment from her supervisor, she quits work despite her family's vehement disapproval. On her way to Bogotá to find a new job, she is offered a position as a drug mule. Desperate, she accepts the risks and swallows 62 pellets of cocaine sealed with latex and dental floss and flies to New York City with her immature friend Blanca.
On arrival, María is interviewed by US customs who are suspicious of her movements but she avoids being X-rayed due to her pregnancy, and they ultimately believe her story that the father of her child paid for her air ticket. The traffickers collect María and several other mules and they are sequestered in a hotel room until they pass all the drug pellets. Fellow mule Lucy falls ill when a pellet apparently ruptures inside her and the traffickers cut her body open to retrieve the pellets she is carrying. When the traffickers leave to dump Lucy's body, María convinces Blanca to escape with her and they abscond with the drugs they have passed.
With nowhere to sleep, María goes to Lucy's sister's apartment but doesn't reveal to the sister that Lucy is dead. Soon Blanca joins her there but eventually the sister is told the truth and throws them out. Blanca and María return the drugs to the traffickers and receive their payment. María uses some of her drug money to send Lucy's body home to Colombia. Her mission having become one of determination and survival, she ultimately emerges with the grace that will carry her forward into a new life. Finally, at the airport, as she is about to board the plane with Blanca back to Colombia, María decides she must stay.
Focusing on a global economic system that promotes the exploitation of the poor, this well-crafted and very human drama is also an understated yet brutal depiction of a young girl's journey in learning to take responsibility. Joshua Marston's debut feature was the recipient of numerous international nominations and awards, including prizes at Sundance and Berlin International Film Festival.
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