Maria lives in Seveso, Italy, during the summer of 1976, one among a group of friends. Her life drastically changes after a chemical incident at the nearby ICMESA plant. While residents are initially told the released chemical cloud is relatively harmless, Maria and her friends later learn it contained deadly dioxin.

Following prolonged exposure to the contaminant, Maria develops chloracne, a severe skin condition directly linked to dioxin poisoning. This illness exemplifies the widespread suffering within the community, which includes kidney failure, liver failure, and cancer.

Maria's experiences contribute to the group's collective effort to uncover corporate negligence by Roche, ICMESA's parent company, which ignored safety standards and destroyed evidence of its culpability. Her specific personal reactions or actions beyond developing chloracne and participating in this exposure are not detailed.