When her country is taken over by socialist revolutionaries, a wealthy woman can't bear to give up all of her wealth and possessions to the new government, so she hides all of her treasures in the 12 chairs of a dining-room set. After her death her nephew finds out what she had done and, since the chairs had been "nationalized" and are now in the possession of a dozen different people, he sets out to track them down and get the treasures he believes rightfully belong to him.

A young couple find out that their parents (her father and his mother) are having a romance. A series of problems arise because the young couple can't accept that relationship.

Mexican drama film directed by Miguel Littín. It is based on a short story of the same name by Gabriel García Marquez. It was entered into the 30th Berlin International Film Festival