Chapter 1: An Inconvenient Truth
Paco and Pig live a happy, carefree life until Pig is struck by a reasonable doubt: “What if Paco is only keeping me to fatten me up and eat me, like all humans do with pigs?” Suspicious of Paco’s true intentions, Pig leaves home to start a new life elsewhere, but all attempts end in failure. Frustrated, he reflects and reaches a convenient conclusion that, while it doesn’t free him from his fears, makes them more bearable: “Why worry? We all have to die of something.” Pig returns to his sty at Paco’s house—the only place where he’s truly happy.
Chapter 2: Civil Protection
After several complaints from petrol station customers, Paco’s boss fires him. With no other job prospects, Paco asks his aunt, the Mayor, to pull some strings and get him (and by extension, Pig) into the Civil Protection Brigades. Empowered by their uniforms, the two friends become a sort of despotic, arbitrary parallel police force, testing the neighbours’ patience. Faced with a flood of complaints, the Mayor is forced to remove them from the brigade. But just then, the pair—through sheer accident—prevent a catastrophe at Ponte Regato’s Foam Festival when a runaway cement mixer full of cocktails threatens to mow down several locals. The result: the Brigades are dissolved due to budget cuts (the council has to compensate the event organisers), and Paco returns to his old job at the petrol station, now hailed as a local hero.
Chapter 3: Born to Be Wild
A herd of wild boars invades Ponte Regato, destroying maize fields, vandalising street furniture, and scattering rubbish. One night, after a game of cards, the herd ambushes the two friends, and Pig is captivated by the boars’ menacing look and wild, lawless lifestyle. Without hesitation, he joins them in a series of increasingly daring heists: raiding the feed warehouse, robbing Viki’s bar, and beating up the organisers of Ponte Regato’s Stew Festival. The council steps in and authorises a hunting party to put an end to the boars’ criminal activities. Pig urges the herd to stand their ground and suggests attacking the Civil Guard’s outpost to seize weapons. But the boars, more cautious, decide to flee to safer territories. Pig returns to his sty, disappointed by his companions’ cowardice but proud to be the baddest of the bad.
Chapter 4: The Vet
Pig has a mild case of swine flu but doesn’t want Paco to call the vet—a grumpy old man who jabs injections like darts. Paco ignores him and calls the clinic. To their surprise, the old vet has retired, and in his place arrives a stunningly beautiful and charming young woman named Susana. Both friends are smitten and find all sorts of excuses to visit the clinic. Paco and Pig can’t help but fall for the same woman and start competing for her attention, unaware that she has no interest in either of them. Tired of the rivalry, Lola suggests they talk to Susana and let her choose. But when they confront her, they discover the harsh truth: Susana’s heart already belongs to a 900-kilo Percheron horse named Titan. Paco and Pig realise they can’t compete with such an imposing stallion.
Chapter 5: The Overemployed Disabled
Encouraged by his card game rivals, Beni and Milucho, Paco goes to the council to request support for Pig, claiming he’s a dependent with a disability. He’s thrown out, and Pig gets angry, insisting he can earn a living like any Vietnamese pig (a professional pet) or those pigs that sniff out truffles. He demonstrates his impressive sense of smell to Paco. Soon, Pig embarks on a multi-professional career as a mushroom hunter, gas leak detector, and medical diagnostician by scent. Success goes to his head, and he prepares to work as a “nose” in a glamorous Parisian perfume house. But an accident while sniffing a dangerous concentration of musk leaves him without a sense of smell. Paco and Pig return to the council to request support for dependents, this time with a veterinary report confirming Pig’s olfactory disability.
Chapter 6: The Stew Festival
Every year, when Ponte Regato’s Stew Festival arrives, Pig locks himself in his sty, terrified, while Lola goes out with a megaphone, urging neighbours to consider the cruelty of killing animals for food. But this year, Lola convinces Pig to stop being a passive victim and join the fight. The two activists station themselves at the fair entrance, shouting slogans that everyone ignores—not even Paco, who sneaks in disguised with a trench coat, hat, and fake moustache. One of the organisers spots Pig and approaches him, proposing he become the event’s mascot. Pig is outraged and threatens the man until he mentions money. Next, we see Pig tap dancing in a tuxedo at the fair entrance, while Lola walks away, defeated and bitter. Paco sees the scene and feels sorry. He joins her, and they sit by the river, eating a plate of turnip greens and potatoes from the fair.
Chapter 7: The Takeover of the Town Hall
A group of neighbours led by Lola uncover a case of urban corruption involving builder Pacucho and Mayor Rita. Rita falls from grace and ends up drowning her sorrows in alcohol with the only neighbour who supports her—Pig. Without remembering what happened the night before, Pig wakes up in his sty, cuddled up with Rita. He fantasises about becoming the Mayor’s Consort and, without waking her, sets off to rally the town’s most stubborn and brainless residents, convincing them that the Mayor was the victim of an eco-communist-feminist conspiracy. Tensions rise, the mob storms the town hall, and reinstates the Mayor. Rita thanks Pig (now adorned with a buffalo hat) for his help but explains that, for image reasons, they must keep their distance. Pig accepts gracefully and walks away, proud of having slept with Rita (something he doesn’t actually remember happening) and of shaking the town’s democratic institutions (which did happen and won’t be forgotten anytime soon).
Chapter 8: The Best Birthday Ever
Paco is about to turn thirty and realises he’s a failure: he can’t get a date, has a rubbish job, and a bleak future. Pig feels sorry for his friend and decides to cheer him up by hiring a prostitute from the A Frodita club to pose as a stranger who falls madly in love with him. The woman stops at the petrol station, looks at him seductively, and flirts. To Paco’s surprise, they arrange to meet at a pub that night. Proud, Pig tells Lola about his plan to lift Paco’s spirits. Lola explodes: machismo, sexual exploitation, and deceiving a friend are unacceptable. Pig has no choice but to cancel the arrangement with the prostitute. But Paco knows nothing and waits eagerly at the pub for the mysterious woman from the petrol station. Lola walks by, sees him, enters, and sits with him. Paco says he’s just been stood up. Lola feels tenderness for the sweet, naive man Paco is. They reminisce about their school days, laugh, and it seems their affection might turn into something deeper. Meanwhile, Pig tries to avoid paying the professional he hired.