The construction of a dam near the Mexican village of San Marcos has brought the water right up to the doorsteps of the local houses. The lively chatter of human voices has disappeared not only from this community, which used to have around 300 families, but also from the streets of several other small towns in the area. The inhabitants began moving out of San Marcos years earlier, and now only three families remain. The deserted ruins are gradually becoming part of the spectral rural landscape; the endless cacophony of cicadas, lapping water and birds twittering is only occasionally exchanged for moments of oppressive silence. In her feature-length documentary debut, Betzabé García surveys San Marcos with a patient eye, emphasising the sinister atmosphere of the place. Her vigilant observation offers a testimony to the handful of brave individuals imprisoned by the surrounding wasteland, whose bleak situation mirrors that of the village cow stranded on a small island as the water level rises. Yet they won’t abandon their homes in spite of their limited resources, their loneliness and fear; here they have everything they need to survive.