In the midst of death and destruction wreaked by an earthquake, the birth of Romilia is an omen of joy and prosperity for the settlers of El Comienzo. But powerful forces are at odds in this turbulent drama that unfolds against the fractured backdrop of twentieth-century Central America.

By the time Romilia marries into the Colonez clan, dreams have been shattered and the promised land has become a field of death and starvation controlled by foreign business interests. Patricio and Romilia Colonez muster the enterprising spirit of their fathers to establish a brick factory in the only patch of land not devoted to coffee.

Their hopes of offering a decent living to the townspeople are dashed by the forces of exploitation represented by Antonio Colonez, the brother who seeks to assist the foreign entrepreneurs.

The dream for a promising future is left in the hands of their children Paco and Rosa. Imbued with the goodness and decency of their father and the resiliency of their mother, they struggle against the oppressors: the foreign capitalists, the government and the ruling classes who threaten their very existence. Regardless of failure and tragedy, in the end, their determination impresses upon their mother the need to continue fighting.