 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, precipating 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.