Watchmaker Lucio devotedly looks after his wife Diana, who shows clear signs of mental illness. When he realises she needs professional care, he has her placed in an experimental institution for treatment. Then strange things start to happen. Are they a figment of his similarly afflicted mind, or is there really something unsavoury going on? The story, set in the mid-20th century, conjures up an intriguing blend of melancholic retro atmosphere and sense of menace. The film hovers on vague borders between reality, illusion and fixation, lending the intimate story of the loving couple an air of magic realism. Scenes from the home environment thus stand alongside motifs from the institution, where both people and dogs are patients. The film’s perspective accommodates the characters’ disturbed state of mind, and despite their obvious commitment to one another, the married couple’s coexistence balances on a precarious line. The moment the family finds peace of mind, their tranquillity then seems to elude them, and traces of disquiet remain even after the wife mysteriously recovers.