A secret and deep passion marks the life of a young doctor, and threatens the existence of those around him. His story is told by himself in flashbacks, as one of the main characters lies dying. This man, as a young doctor, adored Matilde, who cruelly gave herself blindly to the wrong man. Matilde's sister, Anancia, in her terrible innocence, acts cruelly, precipitating her sister's wrong move. Jonas, the doctor's brother, is out of his mind, driven mad by another tragic love story. Finally, there are Valeria and her father, the former a beautiful and mysterious fencing master, who lived in the doctor's family's fencing pavilion, where she (and originally her father only) gave fencing lessons, and engaged in other activities.