Three lives in search of redemption intersect in the streets of Lima: undercover cop Gamarra’s desperate attempts to save his wife from a terminal illness gets him into trouble; bus driver Felix wants to be accepted into a religious sect after his involvement in a tragic traffic accident; and imperiled soccer club leader Narciso tries to secure his younger brother’s release from prison.

A man studying to be a writer learns some unpleasant lessons about himself in this drama. Alfonso (Giovanni Ciccia) is an aspiring novelist who, as part of his scholarship to a writing program, must take an internship at a tabloid newspaper alongside his girlfriend Nadia (Lucia Jimenez). While Nadia is given a simple office assignment, Alfonso is made an assistant to one of the paper's top writers, Faundez (Gianfranco Brero), which turns out to be a demanding job. With his driver Van Gogh (Carlos Gassols) and his photographer Escalona (Fele Martinez), Faundez heads out each day to collect stories through intimidation and emotional manipulation, and he has no qualms about using sources for his own purposes or passing along stories to his less-industrious significant other, Roxanna (Ynonne Frayssinet). While Alfonso is appalled by Faundez's shaky ethics and cavalier attitude toward women, it also begins to sink in, and when circumstances force Alfonso to take over for Faundez for a while, he's surprised to discover how much he's come to resemble the man he despises. Tinta Roja was based on the novel by Alberto Fuguet.