Franco has taken control in Spain after the civil war. In a small village, Gloria, the imperious head of a troubled family, runs a grocery store which does a brisk business in the black market. When Oscar, her oldest son, marries Ana, his handsome brother Juan decides to better his fortunes in Madrid. Ana, who loves him, is heartbroken. Angela, a poor relative he has made pregnant, is even more upset. She moves to the countryside with her young son, Juanito.
Years later, Gloria wants to bring her illegitimate grandson into the family circle. When he is stricken with rheumatic fever, Angela agrees to let him stay at "the Garden." Everyone cowtows to the youngster, and he becomes close to Ana. Finally given the opportunity to meet his father, he is disappointed to discover that Juan is only a waiter in Franco's entourage.
Director Aragon successfully draws out sibling rivalry and sexual unhappiness which have torn this family apart. Encarna Paso is authoritative as Gloria; Angela Molina (so memorable in Luis Bunuel's That Obscure Object of Desire) is appropriately depressed as the mistreated Angela; and Ana Belen effectively conveys the displeasure of Ana, a woman who has married the wrong man. In the conclusion of the story when Juan returns home, all the characters' darkest passions erupt in a dramatic finale.