Tula, a 31-year-old single woman whose sister has just died, decides to live in the home of her bank-employee brother-in-law Ramiro and his two children. She takes control of their lives, playing wife/mother without the sexual commitments or maternal responsibilities. Ramiro likes her because she adores his children, but she rejects his courtship. Desperate Ramiro tries to rape her and the priest advises her to marry the man. Tula insists on maintaining platonic relations and decides to take them to her village and, in the presence of relatives, redirect Ramiro’s feelings to the memory of her deceased sister. Ramiro rapes Tula’s young cousin Juanita at the earliest opportunity, but the rest of the family does not know until months later when it’s obvious that she’s pregnant. Ramiro is forced to marry her, and he takes her and the children back to the city.