In La Barra, Colombia, the village leader Cerebro fights against a powerful landowner who wants to build a beach resort. Meanwhile, the quiet city boy Daniel arrives one day to wait for an illegal boat to take him out of the country. Some young locals agree to help him, but there are complications.

The title of this film is not accidental. Oscar Ruíz Navia makes a parallel between the main character and a crab: both are trapped by their conditions and unable to move forward. Set in an isolated village on the Pacific coast, Crab Trap is a gentle, enigmatic portrait of Afro-Colombian culture.