Seven-year-old Juan, abandoned by his parents, lives with his grandmother in Guatemala. Because his family is so poor, his grandmother puts him to work. But when his dream of going to school comes true, Juan turns out to be a brilliant student who makes his grandmother proud.
On a trip to town with her mama, a little girl finds many dark places where pieces of the night are hiding, in the cracks of market stalls, under the sidewalk grate, and in the fur of a mother cat.