Cuban immigrants, the Vernets emigrated to Puerto Rico in the early twentieth century and created a series of commercial enterprises destined to place them at the forefront of the Island's struggle for independence. Practical Elvira Vernet is a fiercely independent spirit, much to the chagrin of her beautiful mother Clarissa, a descendant of the aristocratic Rivas de Santillana clan, whose colorful aunts and uncles glide through Elvira's childhood like mythical story book creatures. But even the Vernet's great wealth and power cannot insulate them from the violent conflicts, infidelity, and suicide that threaten to tear their family apart.