James, a jewellery store operator, spots Maria in a bit part in a play and asks her to impersonate his mistress, Judith, who died in an accident, so that he can reenact significant scenes from their relationship. 23-year-old Maria, long the victim of various sorts of abuse, agrees, attracted by what she sees as the love between these people. She lives with an emotionally disturbed gambler, Hugo, who is her boyfriend and occasionally her pimp; he sees through this odd role-playing game and tries to save Maria from what he perceives as danger, while she increasingly loses herself in Judith's identity.