Tarifa, a city in the south of Spain, is considered one of Europe's best beaches for surfing. Early in the morning, the wind-surfers sail across the clear blue sea and the first tourists are taking their places in the deck chairs. Just a few steps away dead bodies are being tossed up on the shore by crashing waves. The nights of the "pateras" provide the best conditions for motorboats crossing the Straits of Gibraltar in the dark. They come when there the moon is full and the sea is smooth, filled to the gunwales with ever-more people from Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa. Many cannot swim and have nothing except the clothes on their backs. And it doesn‘t take much for an overcrowded boat to capsize or sink, leading to a catastrophe. From a European perspective and with haunting images, the film takes a look at the people of Tarifa whose everyday life is influenced by the constant flow of illegal immigrants, searching for a better future in "fortress Europe”.