Don Fernando's son Ramón calls his brothers and his uncle. He tells them that don Fernando wants the family come to La Gavia. Carlos, who lives in Miami, and Juan, who lives in New York, are en route. Juan's wife Pati works at the theater; he goes there to tell her about the family meeting. Ramón also calls his uncle Pedro in Mexico City.
The family members gather at La Gavia. Ramón, his wife Consuelo, and his daughter Maricarmen are already present, as they live at the hacienda. Carlos, his wife Gloria, and their children Juanita and Carlitos arrive from Miami. Juan arrives from New York with his wife Pati; they have no children. Mercedes, who is a widow, lives at La Gavia. Pedro, don Fernando's brother, also arrives from Mexico City. Upon their arrival, they all greet Lupe, a longtime family employee.
During the family gathering, don Fernando reveals the secret from his past. During the Civil War in Spain Fernando had married a woman named Rosario. When Guernica was bombed, Fernando thought that Rosario, who was pregnant, had died. But he has recently received a letter from Seville, from a woman named Teresa Suárez, saying that Rosario didn't die. It is possible that Fernando has another child in Spain.
Pedro, a lawyer, asks for help from a colleague, Raquel Rodriguez from Los Angeles. She goes to Mexico and then reviews the names of the members of the family. Don Fernando's second wife, Carmen—mother of Ramón, Carlos, Juan, and Mercedes—is dead. Is his first wife dead? Does he really have another child? That is the great mystery.
