Abandoned in Patagonia, the alcoholic Valdivia lives off odd jobs, and mainly off petty theft. One day, while breaking into a car, he is caught by the owner. A strange relationship develops between him and the woman, a swimming instructor who also works nights in a bar. Soon, however, their affair comes to an end. Valdivia, a man accustomed to failure, dreams of a golden sheep that he once had and then lost. He then receives a call from a mysterious man, who hires him to find just such a sheep. Valdivia begins to travel further south, as if trying to reach the end of the world, in a search that gives meaning to his life.