Spanish historical drama based on the life of 16th century playright Lope de Vega. Returning to Madrid from the war, an eagerly ambitious Lope (Alberto Ammann) is forced to take a job as a copyist while he dreams of finding fame and fortune. He soon falls for his employer's seductive daughter, Elena (Pilar López de Ayala), little realising that she is in fact already married. When she refuses to end her marriage for a future with the struggling writer, Lope causes a scandal by publicising their affair. Now accused of slander, Lope goes on the run, where he soon finds help in the form of his childhood friend, the beautiful Isabel (Leonor Watling).

Daniel Monzon writes and directs this suspenseful Spanish prison thriller based on a novel by Francisco Perez Gandul. Alberto Ammann stars as trainee prison guard Juan Olivier, who is injured when a prison riot breaks out as he is taking his induction tour of the prison. The uprising, initiated by the charismatic and dangerous Malamadre (Luis Tosar), is a politically-motivated rebellion intended to force negotiations with the authorities over prisoners' rights, and to this end Malamadre takes three Basque terrorists hostage. Caught amidst the ensuing chaos and desperate to protect himself, Juan pretends to be an inmate and ends up becoming Malamadre's right hand man.