The book begins with a young woman, Celia, being abandoned by her love, Gustavo. This leaves her depressed and lonely, so when she is approached by Jorge del Pino who asks for her hand in marriage, she accepts.
However, she is mistreated by Jorge’s family, which causes her to have a mental breakdown and be admitted to hospital. When she returns, she is still lonely and depressed but has some solace from her children mainly in the form of her eldest, Lourdes.
Lourdes grows up very different to Celia, not having much of a close relationship with her mother. She moves to the US with her husband after the Cuban Revolution and has a daughter names Pilar. Despite Lourdes being proud to be American, Pilar is the opposite, and wants to be reunited with her grandmother, Celia, in Cuba.
However, at an elderly Jorge’s urging, Pilar and Lourdes return to Cuba to see Celia. Though they are happy to see Celia, they realize that there is nothing left for them in Cuba. In the end, they return to Cuba and Celia is left alone again in an empty home.
