In the 1930s, in an isolated valley of the Pyrenees Mountains, an aging teach reconstructs a bloody and tragic event that seems destined to remain forever hidden behind a wall of collective silence. He alone can penetrate appearances and grasp the iron laws determining the lives of all those who live in the region - this valley where nature is miserly and leaves little room for poetic contemplation or an excess of feelings. He alone remembers his protégé, Ramón, a shepherd who, no more than a child, fell in love with Alba, the only daughter of the regions most influential landowner. The rich and powerful conspire to thwart the love between Ramón and Alba, and in doing so incite a feud that will extend beyond all reason. Thus begins a vigorous, dramatic story of rebellion and the heroic quest for freedom.