Celia Almeida is a young Cuban woman who falls in love with a Spanish man, Gustavo. However, their romance is short-lived as Gustavo returns to Spain. This leaves Celia depressed and lonely. Jumping on her sadness, Jorge del Pino offers for her hand in marriage, which Celia agrees to her. However, he is jealous of her past with Gustavo and punishes her by leaving her for long work trips. It is clear that he is unable to bear the thought of her being in love another man and having to live unrequitedly in love with her. It is bittersweet for Jorje as he believes she would fall in love with him but love cannot so easily be wished away.
When Celia eventually falls pregnant with her daughters, Lourdes and Felicia, and her son, Javier. But Celia becomes mentally unstable which causes conflict in her relationship with all her children. All three children and their parents lead different lives as the years go on, and Celia realizes she is losing all her children. She struggles to teach them important lessons but they all strive for their own independence, making her feel as though she is not a good mother and her role as a parent has been made redundant. Eventually, the children come to realize that Celia’s own life shaped who she was, and they try to take her life a lesson for their own choices.
