In 1967 Buenos Aires, eight year old Valentín lives alone with his poor widowed paternal grandmother. He has not seen his mother since he was three. His grandmother tells him that his mother was unfaithful to his father. Regardless, Valentín still misses her. His womanizing father, Vincente, is on the most part absent as a traveling salesman, he who seems more concerned about his own fortunes than sending money home to take care of his mother and son. Valentín has dreams like most young boys, his primary one being to become an astronaut. He believes the work that he does building rocket models and space suits will assist the NASA space program, and he does whatever he can, such as walk around in heavy shoes to simulate zero gravity and hold his breath underwater, in his pursuit of becoming an astronaut, despite being slightly cross-eyed and near-sighted, which he believes will not hinder his chances. But without really realizing it, he wants more than anything to be part of a nuclear ...