Gloria is set against the backdrop of a rural landscape slowly disappearing in modern Portugal. The small border town of Vila de Santiago once a booming trade center for illegal trafficking is about to become a ghost town as a new motorway is to bypass the city and the railway station is being closed. Its stationmaster Vincente is preparing to retire. Many young people have moved out leaving the children to be brought up by the elderly including thirteen-year-old Glória and her friend Ivan. Glória's life suddenly changes with the arrival of Vincente's younger brother Mauro who has just come out of prison and has some old issues to settle. Mauro begins to charge around the station on his motorbike while Glória's friendship with Ivan is put to test on account of her attraction to older Mauro.