In 1860, a 35-year-old Frenchman explores Araucania, an autonomous region of southern Chile. The people elect him King of Araucania and Patagonia, uniting the autonomous tribes for the first time. Then, he is confronted by the Chilean court of justice and must defend himself. His reasoning seems flawless: Araucania is outside Chile, so how can Chile condemn him? But when events are retold in the trial, certain facts seem to contradict each other… Imprisoned in a gruesome cell, ill-fed and feverish, the King takes refuge in ecstatic dreams.