Within a few hours of birth, Elena, an infant girl, is left at the doorsteps of a Catholic orphanage in Mazatlán, Mexico, where her childhood passes quickly. Things change the day Elena is sent to a hacienda in Sonora, hired as kitchen help. Her new life begins under the watchful eyes of the matriarch, and she is desired by two men at the rancho who are obsessed with her beauty: the son of the hacienda's patriarch and a hired hand. Although she is unaware of the disruption she causes, a silent competition between the men begins. Only one will win, leaving the other more determined than ever to possess the young woman. In the process, revolution, violence, love, death, marriage, and a desperate trek to begin new lives in California follow as Elena struggles to save her adopted family and escape certain death.