El secreto de Puente Viejo

The story begins with Pepa, a poor and illiterate but intelligent adolescent orphaned girl with great knowledge in herb medicine and obstetrics who had been lusted and impregnated by her landlord Carlos Càstro giving birth to a son and then thrown out of the house and tricked to believe that her child was stillborn. She finds a shelter in Raimundo Ulloa (Ramòn Ibarra)'s inn where she befriends his daughter Emilia and is hired to be an obstetrician for Francisca Montenegro (Marìa Bouzas), a wealthy landlady's pregnant daughter-in-law Angustias who's mentally unstable. Both Angustias and Francisca begin hating Pepa when Francisca's son Tristan falls in love with the latter. Pepa holds the blame for Angustias' baby's death while actually, the real culprit is Angustias herself. Eventually, the truth is revealed and the latter is sent to a mental institution where she commits suicide. Later, Pepa finds out that Tristan's adopted son Martin is her long-lost son, taken away by Carlos who was Tristan's adopted brother, who later died in a fire with all his household. However, he is revealed to have survived and returns, kidnapping his son. The villagers find out that Carlos is dead but do not find the child and consider him also dead. Pepa finds her real mother, a wealthy landlady who was forced to give her illegitimate newborn child away, as she was also underaged, and her father is Francisca's deceased husband. It is also revealed that Raimundo and Francisca were lovers and Tristan is their son, so he's not Pepa's brother. After many trials, Pepa and Tristan finally get married and their daughter Aurora is born. Unfortunately, Pepa suffers from harsh pregnancy and dies in childbirth. When she learns that Tristan has been kidnapped while travelling, Pepa goes searching for him. Tristan manages to escape the goons and meets Pepa in the mountains near Puente Viejo. There, Pepa delivers with the help of Tristan but is very weak and unable to get up. After a tearful farewell, Tristan takes the newborn to the village.

Gonzalo (Jordi Coll), the new priest, comes to the town with a single purpose, to find his real family, it is Martín, the son of Pepa and Carlos who they left for dead in the first stage, he fell in love with Maria, raised in her godmother Francisca's home, has grown up to be a noble lady from the upper class who becomes a love interest of Fernando (Carlos Serrano) (Pepa's step-brother's son, named Olmo) and soon they get engaged. Meanwhile, Tristan is depressed after Pepa's demise, and does not communicate with anybody, except for his father Raimundo, his sister Emilia, his niece Maria, his brother-in-law Alfonso and his maidservant Rosario. He did not want to look after Aurora, as she reminded him of Pepa and sent her to a boarding school in Switzerland when she was 7 years old. Candela (Aída de la Cruz), a lonely confectioner who escaped her cruel husband, enters Tristan's life, making him happy again and they fall in love. It is revealed that Gonzalo is Pepa's long-lost son Martin and he reunites with his family. However, he finds out about Fernando's cruel and violent and together with Maria's adoptive aunt and maidservant of the Montenegros Mariana tries to stop his wedding with Maria but fails. Fernando, who's madly jealous, molests his wife before and after marriage and Martin is determined to save her. Tristan finds out that Francisca killed Pepa by getting her poisoned during pregnancy and disowns his mother.

Meanwhile, Aurora (Victoria Camps Medina) returns after graduating boarding school and Candela helps Tristan making up with his daughter. It turns out the girl is not Aurora, but her friend Jacinta who got mad and stole the real Aurora's life, sending her to India. The real Aurora (Ariadna Gaya) manages to return and with the help of Martin and Maria exposes Jacinta who flees. Tristan reunites with his children but his happy living ever after is turned into a tragic end when Jacinta returns and murders him on his wedding with Candela. Before his wedding, Tristan decides to forgive Francisca and reconcile with his mother, but she refuses. After the wedding, Jacinta shoots Candela, but the projectile hits Tristan, who was hugging her, and he dies. Francisca visit his grave and cry broken of pain for the lost of his son.

After the unsuccessful attempted murder of Candela (which was Jacinta's purpose in the first place), Jacinta flees again and poisons Puente Viejo's water supplies, causing a mortal epidemics. Martin and Aurora manage to get the antidote and save the village but Jacinta ends up committing suicide in a furious rage after realising her deeds. It is revealed that after Tristan left dying Pepa in the mountains taking newborn Aurora to the village, Pepa woke up, delivered Aurora's fraternal twin Bosco and was dragged by somebody after losing cautious again. Tristan never found her corpse. It is also never revealed what really happened to her. She gave the second baby to a random woman passing by.

After Fernando's numerous unsuccessful attempts of killing Martin, who is expecting a child with Maria, he injures himself badly end ends up in a wheelchair. Martin and Maria look after him until his recovering in exchange for a divorce. Fernando does not keep his word and kidnapped Maria's and Marti'ns daughter, Esperanza, but eventually, all his crimes are caught and he is sent to jail. However, Francisca turns against Maria when she finds out about the latter's pregnancy and plans of getting rid of her goddaughter and taking the child from her. Having given priesthood up, Martin marries Maria. After Francisca's unsuccessful plot to murder Martin, Maria gets furious and tries to kill her godmother to put an end of her evilness and cruel deeds but is stopped by Martin. To protect their daughter Esperanza, Martin and Maria enact their death with the help of their relatives and escape abroad. They live happily ever after in Cuba with Esperanza.

Francisca takes Bosco under her patronage after he saves her life and eventually his origins are revealed due to three moles on his back, possessed by Pepa and all her descendants. Bosco and Ines, Candela's niece who works as a maid in Montenegro Mansion, fall in love but Francisca gets Bosco married to a woman from the upper class named Amalia. However, Ines falls pregnant with Bosco's child. Amalia, who is childless, also fakes pregnancy and when Ines gives birth, she steals the latter's child telling her it died after birth and presenting it as her own. At the same time, Severo Santacruz (Chico García) arrives in the town accompanied by Carmelo Leal (Raúl Peña), his best friend, together they will be in charge of making Francisca pay for the death of Severo's parents Since she killed them in the past. After Conrado's death, Aurora finds the love in Lucas, but in the wedding she left him and travel to Paris.

Eventually, the truth is revealed and Ines reunites with her son and with Bosco. Amalia dies in an accident and Bosco and Ines get married. Unfortunately, Ines falls ill from diabetes and dies. Bosco is heartbroken but promises himself not to repeat his father's mistake. He hires a nanny for his son Beltran, Berta and soon they fall in love. But Berta turns out to be mental and attempts to kill Francisca when the latter tries to expose Berta's psychological state to Bosco. While protecting herself from Berta, Francisca inadvertently shoots Bosco and he dies. Bosco's last wish is for Beltran to be raised by Aurora. Initially, Francisca refuses to hand the baby over but then she decides not to repeat her mistake with Tristan and lets her love for Bosco triumph over her ego and hatred for Aurora. Severo and Carmelo devise a plan through which they make Francisca lose all her money and be forced to beg with Raimundo (Ramón Ibarra), her longtime love and Mauricio (Mario Zorrilla), her right hand and the only one who did not abandon her when she lost her money. Severo and Carmelo find Sol in Madrid, she is Severo's sister, employed as a prostitute and take her to Puente Viejo. Initially, Sol is scared and rebellious but soon manages to adapt to her new life, finding new friends in the village.

The protagonists of this stage are Hernando (Àngel de Miguel) and Camila (Yara Puebla). After Bosco's death, Aurora sells her home mansion to the Mella Family. But hardly soon arrived at the village, the Mellas tragically die in a fire accidentally caused by the family's children. Beatriz (Giulia Charm), the mute daughter of the family is the only survival. Hernando dos Casas, a wealthy but distanced landlord arrives at the village to be the girl's custodian. Soon after that, his wife Camila whom he has never seen, as they had married in different countries, (he married to get custodian rights over Beatriz) arrives from Cuba. Camila's character is her husband's complete opposite: she's kind and caring and soon wins her adopted daughter's heart over while Hernando provokes only fear in the girl despite his efforts of befriending her. Camila even manages to help Beatriz regain her voice. Elìas Mato (Jaime Lorento), a chemist working for Hernando, falls in love with Camila and tries to separate her from her husband but eventually, the spouses grow closer to each other. As love between them arises, they have to overcome the misunderstandings created by Elias between them and learn how to trust each other. It is later revealed that Hernando is not the person he seems to be, he looks cold and heartless from the outside but is warm-hearted and caring from the inside. A tragedy had struck his life in the past that changed his manner: he had lost his family in a fire. However, 1 of his children survived: Beatriz, who had partly lost her memory and also her voice. She is scared from Hernando as he reminds her of the person who had set the fire. As Hernando had known somebody was plotting against him, he had send his daughter to live with the Mellas, who were family friends of his, to protect her. As Camila finds out the truth, she proves Hernando's innocence in front of Beatriz and eventually the three of them live together like a real family. Later, the family faces new struggles as Beatriz is involved in a love triangle with Matias (Emilia's adopted son) and Ismael, her father's new business partner.

Doctor Lucas Moliner falls in love with Sol but their love has to go through some trials as it turns out Sol is married to her former employer Eliseo. After some twists and turns, Eliseo and Sol are divorced and she marries Lucas. Severo gives his revenge towards Francisca up, settles down in the village and marries Candela with whom he acquires a son named after his loyal friend Carmelo (who also finds love and settles in the village). Sol dies when Severiano, the first love of Emilia, poisons her by mistake wanting to kill Alfonso, who was close to Sol. Emilia is guilty of murder, Severiano has returned to ask for money and go to America, but thanks to Maria's return, they get Severiano to die and for Emilia to leave the jail. Lucas marches desolate from the town with his son.

Cristobal Garrigues arrives to the town, he is one of the sons of Salvador Castro, and a army's intendant who has come to take revenge on Francisca for snatching her father's inheritance, since Francisca kept the inheritance of Salvador, but thanks to Severo and Carmelo they get the army to send Cristobal to Morocco.

Matias, who loves Beatriz, is unreasonably jealous of Ismael who turns out to be Beatriz' long-lost brother Damiàn, who was taught to have died in the fire. But it is also revealed that Damian is evil and is the actual culprit for the fire and also for his mother's death. Damian repents for his past mistakes and asks his father for forgiveness. Hernando agrees, on condition Damian undergoes a psychotherapy. Damian seems to recover but his truly wicked intentions are revealed when he pushes Camila, who never trusted and so, investigated him, into a well. Camila, who's pregnant, survives but loses the child. Soon, Damian dies in an accident. Hernando does not succeed in saving his son and is heartbroken. Hernando and Camila's love is tested again when Camila's friend Lucìa tries to stand between the 2 but it is strong enough to resist. The couple's happiness returns when Camila gets pregnant again.

Cristobal returns to the town and now, he attacks Severo's family, almost got Candela abort the son son of Severo and they fake his dead and that of Severo. Cristobal takes over Severo's house after his supposed death and Carmelo now is his esclave. Carmelo kills a man who was at enmity with Cristobal, that man's widow, Adela (Ruth Llopis) and Carmelo fall in love without her knowing that it was Carmelo who killed her husband. Finally Severo is shown to be alive and he and Carmelo fight Cristóbal by kicking him out of the house.

Francisca and Raimundo gets married.

In this stage, the protagonists of the soap opera are Julieta (Claudia Galàn) and Saul (Rubèn Bernal). Saul and his brother Prudencio (Josè Milàn) save Francisca from Cristòbal Garrigues. Julieta arrives at Puente Viejo with her grandmother Consuelo (Trinidad Iglesias) and daughter Ana (who's actually her half-sister, the reasons Julieta hides her identity are still unknown). Ana dies in a fire caused by Prudencio, who is dying of jealousy since his brother and Juliet are in love. Since then prudencio tries to separate Julieta and Saul without success.

Matias mets one woman, Marcela (Paula Ballesteros), in a party and impregnate her, for that reason he is obliged to marry with her, that act brokes Beatriz's heart and she goes to bed with Aquilino to make Matias jealous. The financial situation of the Dos Casas has worsened a lot after the damage that Damián caused and after the departure of Lucía and the arrival of Aquilino, a man who wants to sink Hernando further, he receives a job offer and moves to Czechoslovakia with his family.

Carmelo and Adela married and Severo and Candela backs to the town, but Candela dies as her ex-mother-in-law, her first husband's mother comes to town and kills her, stealing baby Carmelo. Since then Severo tries to avenge the death of his wife and succeeds, but cannot find his son, it is revealed that the baby is in hiding with a journalist, Irene (Rebeca Sala), who unknowingly kept him . Severo and Irene fall in love and form a family with Carmelo and Adela, their soul friends.

Nicolás murders the son of a general since he killed his wife, Mariana, since then, said general hunts him and thanks to the help of the neighbors he manages to escape from the town, but the general attacks Emilia and Alfonso and they, after kill him they are in trouble.

Fernando backs to the town to help Alfonso and Emilia with his problem, Francisca disappeared and Fernando takes over Francisca's house. Raimundo tries to find his wife but apparently, She doesn't want to be found. Antolina (María Lima) and Isaac (Ibrahim Al Shami) arrive at the town, Isaac was Elsa's (Alejandra Meco) fiancé, they were going to get married when some terrorists broke into the wedding and faked Elsa's death, Antolina is Elsa's maid who managed to escape alive together with Isaac, together they make life in Puente Viejo. Later it is revealed that Elsa is still alive but locked up by her own brother, she manages to escape and reach Puente Viejo, there to deal with Antolina, who is in love with Isaac and they form a love triangle. During this stage Prudencio tries to kill Saúl, Saúl pretends to be dead and Julieta and Prudencio go to La Casona to live with Fernando and Raimundo, leaving Julieta's house to Elsa and Isaac. Meanwhile, Raimundo finds Francisca in a mental hospital, she is damaged mentally, he is locked up in the sanatorium by Fulgencio, Francisca's cousin, Fulgencio and Fernando agreed to lock up Francisca to steale Francisca's properties. Fortunately, Mauricio, Saúl (it is revealed that he is alive), Fernando and Prudencio go to rescue Francisca and Raimundo and Fernando shoots at Fulgencio killing him so that Fulgencio could not reveal that the real villain was Fernando. At home, Francisca is still in a catatonic state, so when there was not much vigilance an outlaw sneaks in and pretends to kill her, that outlaw is Gonzalo, who has returned to fake Francisca's death in a plan concocted with Raimundo, make Fernando believe that she is dead in order to unmask Fernando. One month after Gonzalo's return, María returns, who is about to divorce Gonzalo, Gonzalo returns to Cuba with the money that Fernando has given him so that Gonzalo leaves María and that he (Fernando) has a chance with María.