Manuela is a devoted single mother who needs to come to grips with the death of her 17-year-old son, Esteban. She had never told Esteban about his father, but after reading her son's journal she realizes she has to find Esteban's father, and explain what has happened. She leaves Madrid for Barcelona, to reconnect with her old friend Agrado, who introduces her to Rosa, a young nun in trouble, and Huma Rojo, a brilliant actress whom young Esteban idolized. A Hollywood melodrama done up as Greek tragedy translated into the context of everyday modern life, the film sums up both the boundlessness and the limitations of a mother's love.