At the fish market, Joaquín has begun to lose money to a new competitor. He returns home, dispirited, to find his wife Valentina upset. Although this is not unusual, he is chagrined and wishes that he could have had a few moments of peace before having to talk to her. She is worried that Gatún, her family’s village, will be swallowed up by the dam project and that her friends and relatives will be forced from their homes. The two have been married for two decades, and although Joaquín feels that he should be accustomed to her mood swings, he still wishes for a calmer relationship. Lately Valentina has been upset because their son, Horacio, who had long taken up all of her time and attention, got married. She feels that he no longer needs her, and although she understands that this is the point of parenting, she is lonely. She wants Joaquín to accompany her to Gatún, and he reluctantly agrees. In Gatún, they stay with Valentina’s sister, Renata, in their childhood home. They read the letter ordering the townspeople to evacuate so that their settlement can be relocated. Angry, Valentina decides that they can only fight these changes from the village, and against her husband’s wishes, she decides that the pair will remain in Gatún for the time being.