La Chica de Ayer is a Spanish television series which first aired on the channel Antena 3 between 26 April and 14 June 2009. A detective show, it was based on the British series Life on Mars which featured a policeman suddenly transported back to 1973. The Spanish version of the show was set four years later, in 1977, and took its name from the Spanish song "La Chica de Ayer" by Nacha Pop in a similar manner to the British version which was named after the David Bowie song "Life on Mars". It featured Ernesto Alterio in the role of Samuel Santos, a modern-day police officer who finds himself in 1977 post-Franco Spain under the command of Quin Gallardo, a tough old-school policeman contemptuous of his modern methods.
In a small and quiet town in the mountains, a terrible storm breaks. After the downpour, some of the inhabitants begin to exhibit unusual behaviour. Something has changed in them: Nacho, hostel owner Tania's husband, wakes up from a coma after two years; María, a teacher, gets pregnant without ever having sex; Ramón, an old man with Alzheimer’s, begins to show signs of recovery.
Through her own story we will delve into her traumatic childhood, her artistic past, the loves and disappointments of her life, her loneliness, her fears and, finally, we will learn the truth about her clandestine relationship with the King. Carles Rexach, Alain Delon, Paquirri, Juan Carlos I, Ángel Cristo... Many men wanted to possess her, but none knew how to love her. And, beneath that apparent layer of a tough woman hides María García, a sensitive and fragile woman who, on several occasions, has been on the verge of falling into the abyss: mistreated by her mother; harassed at work; raped, beaten and threatened with death by her husband; evicted and ruined; target of the State sewers... Even so, and despite the bad press, she has always managed to get ahead. María García is the survivor of “Una vida Bárbara” and a reference icon with which to review the recent history of Spain.
Summer is almost over and Germán invites his friends for a few days of fun, sun and sex on his luxurious yacht. The dream vacation quickly turns into a night when the group of friends go for a swim and forget to attach the ladder to the side of the boat.