Esteban Trueba, born circa 1897, is his father's only son and the inheritor of an established family name but without any family wealth. In his early years, he struggles as a miner, establishing a productive gold mine, and gaining his initial worldly possessions. While he works in the distant mines, his fiancé dies in the capital city of the unnamed South American country. Trueba returns to the city, leaving the mine in the hands of the foreman. He then travels to the family country estate at Tres Marias and begins an expansive program of revitalization. As the arch-conservative patrón, he views the land and the peasants as his possessions and works them unceasingly while still providing material improvements to their lives. He also fathers dozens of unacknowledged bastard children on the local peasant girls. Over several years Tres Marias becomes immensely productive and Trueba grows quite...