When a pregnant young woman consults her doctor about an abortion, he tells her the story of the Del Junco family, headed by Don Rafael, a severe patriarch whose daughter, Maria Elena, becomes pregnant by a traveling salesman. Don Rafael sends Maria Elena and her nanny, Maria Dolores, to his country house where they are the prisoners of Bruno the foreman. Though Bruno has orders to kill the baby, Maria Dolores begs for the child's life and flees to Mexico City, where she raises him as her own. The boy grows to manhood and becomes a doctor. While interning, he meets a young woman who takes him home to meet her family, including her aunt, Sister Maria Elena and grandfather Don Rafael.