In the 1970s, grumpy Englishman Tom comes to Buenos Aires to teach at a boys' boarding school. The political situation is tense, the pupils are rebellious and all Tom really wants is peace and quiet. But an incident on the beach in Uruguay turns his life upside down: he discovers an oil-covered Magellanic penguin - and rescues it. He actually wanted to get rid of the animal quickly. But the penguin has no intention of leaving.