After the death of her mother, elementary schoolteacher Marisol Molina feels that her life is empty of meaning, until her Aunt Juana invites her to come live with her on the beautiful but remote and primitive Lake Izabal. Discovering that the local children are condemned to a life of poverty and ignorance for lack of a local school, Marisol struggles to build a small school, assisted by MauricioaEUR"handsome and cultured, but emotionally scarred by a recent betrayal by a former lover.

Torn between her powerful attraction to Mauricio and her near certainty that he is struggling with a secret that may send him into a selfaEUR"destructive spiral, Marisol seeks to remain true to her commitment to the children she has come to love and value.