»Because of this feeling of loneliness and uncertainty, I’ve always thought of La plaga as a contemporary western. Also because we’re talking about the life on the margins of the system, in a strange landscape, in the heat of the summer … And that’s something that I always had in mind in creating the aesthetic atmosphere of the film.«
– Neus Ballús

Raul, a farmer who wants to grow organic food, hires Iurie to help him in the fields. Iuri is a Moldavian wrestling fighter, who earns a living in whatever comes his way. Slowly, their personal stories intertwine with those of three solitary women: Maria, an elderly lady forced to leave her countryside house for a retirement home; Rose, a Philippine nurse who has just arrived in the country; and Maribel, a prostitute who has fewer and fewer clients. The destinies of all these characters become entwined as the summer goes on.
La plaga is a film of interwoven stories that offers a portrait of life on the outskirts of Barcelona. The main characters are not actors. They play themselves after four years of working with the director. This long process has permitted Ballús to reveal the uncertainty and rebel spirit that underlies contemporary crisis-hit Spain.