Elvira tells the story of Elvira Arellano, a Mexican immigrant, single mother, worker and eventual activist. Fearing deportation, Elvira takes sanctuary for a year in a Humboldt Park church. Her year enclosed in sanctuary allows her to observe herself and the systems that led to her arrest and enclosure. Her son, a friend, her pastor, and other supporters accompany her as well as the demands and cruelty of the law-is-the-law Sistema. This is a story about a struggle for survival and for justice, but also about loss. It is not triumphant; the struggle goes on.