Synopsis

The film begins at night, at the Venezuelan slums. A young hitman explains that he is called La Parca (Zapata 666) because he always brings death. [La Parca is the representation of death in the Spanish world, usually dressed in a black robe and with a skeleton bodywhose hand holds a scythe] Images of a starving dog and a suffering lady. Parca, in a voiceover, says that today, it's his time, because death reaches everybody. Parca, whose real name is Tito, is carrying in his arms a heavily pregnant woman. Buitre - which means vulture - (Laureano Olivares) approaches Parca and the woman; she is bleeding and calls Parca Tito, so Buitre wonders what the hell is happening.News excerpts and newspaper cut outs of a doctors' strike. "La hora cero (the zero hour)" means that from that time no medical services will be available to anybody, and it's thought that thousands will perish because of it.We return to Parca's ordeal. Cura - which ironically means priest - (Mascioli Zapata) is talking to a girl through his mobile phone, making sexual remarks to her. Then, Parca, Buitre and Ladydi (Amanda Key) arrive, and they use Cura's moped. Cura also wonders at her calling him Tito. Ladydi leaves blood marks, and wild dogs arrive to lick it.Margaret (Ana María Simón) is hosting her programme. She says that the strike takes place in a moment when a cholera strike is spreading through Venezuela. She gives way to Verónica Rojas (Marisa Román) a correspondant which is at the door of a hospital. Dr. Ricardo Cova (Erich Wildpret) prescribes "no diet pills and a milkshake" to a young girl who has fainted. A female doctor tells her to take side: he is with the strikers, or he is helping patients. When the female doctor leaves, after having complained that the hospital has run out of surgical thread, the mob gets more violent, so a clerk closes and locks the outer rail and main gate. Just afterwards Parca and his friends arrive with Ladydi. They shoot the clerk and the lock, which wakes up Cova.Cova tries to help, in spite of not having the right surgical equipment, as it is a family practicioner establishment, not a full hospital with emergency equipment. Ladydi is in her 33rd week, and has been shot, as was Parca. Fetal heartbeat rhythm is irregular, but Cova can't operate there. As they don't want to wait for an ambulance which may never even leave its parking slot, Buitre calls for a cab, and forces the taxi driver (Froilán Rivero) to give them the keys to his car. As compensation, Buitre gives the taxi driver the moped's keys, and laughs it off saying it was stolen anyway.They decide to make a run for the private hospital José Gregorio. Cova is taken on the backseat tending to Ladydi. The main song from the soap opera Cristal is heard "Mi vida eres tú", and Parca, who is driving, tells Buitre to stop fucking around with the radio. Cura is following them in his moped. Ladydi starts giving birth, but she is too weak to push, so Cova will have to try something. He asks for a knife, a lighter and somebody's help. Blood is everywhere. Parca jumps to the back seat and lets Buitre drive.Parca will push the baby out, meanwhile Cova hits the knife with the lighter and cuts Ladydi, to give way to the baby. They arrive to a road blockade, and after driving on the wrong lane for a while, they arrive to the point where two police officers are. Buitre stops and insists to Parca that will be teammembers fifty-fifty in every business, or he won't jump the blockade. Parca agrees.The baby (Kenyerly Robles) is born, and they are more in a hurry than ever. Cura shoots one of the cops and pushes the other one. There is blood absolutely everywhere, but Ladydi looks happy because the baby looks awake and healthy, in spite of the ordeal.Cut to a clean, snow-white, quiet hospital. Mrs Isabel Mendoza (Haydee Faverola) is trying to read a magazine, but her companion Alejandra (Tatiana Mabo) is worried. Doña Isabel tells that the doctors will only inform the relatives of the patient.The group arrives to the José Gregorio hopital. Cura drives inside the hospital and goes up the stairs in his moped. They interrupt some breast plastic surgery. They force the doctors to take care of Ladydi, who has lost a lot of blood, but the nurse Karla (Nana Ponceléon) says that today there are not any bags of blood, because of the strike - the people who had to send the supplies didn't send them. There are flashbacks of Tito as a child (Luis Alejandro Silva) who has bought ice-cream from stolen money, and he tells her that he will give her money. A teenaged Ladydi (Scarlett Jaimes) says that she wants to go to look for work in the rich areas. Cova tries to give information about the case and leave her with Dr Hernández (Antonio Cuevas), but the surgeon says he will need all the help available, so Cova has no option but staying, and makes a gesture of disappointment.Buitre kills a security guard and takes everybody hostage. Chino (Anthony Rivero "El Gringo") is sent to the rooftop to get a grip "on things" and Buitre has taken all available weaponry.Verónica tells Margaret that she got the scoop that something is happening at the hospital, and that nobody else knows from it. Jesús - or Jesus - (Albi De Abreu) was smoking some dope, so she tries to convince him of concentrating on her live broadcast, saying that this report will be their opportunity to work for the CNN in the USA.The police, with Comisario Peña (Alejandro Furth) on the lead, arrive, as we hear their sirens on the outside.Gobernador Gonzalo (Rolando Padilla) is talking on the phone. He wants the strike to end without casualties, but he's conscious that neither he nor the government has the money to give the pay rise which doctors are asking for. His wife Pilar Pérez (Beatriz Vásquez) is sowing a bikini for their dauther Laura, and she says that she would like his husband and Laura go to the beach on their own. Gonzalo is interrupted by the mobile phone. He switches on the TV and Verónica is there, broadcasting more.Parca band