Three generations of women survive the East wind, fire, insanity, superstition and even death by means of goodness, lies and boundless vitality. They are Raimunda, who is married to an unemployed labourer and has a teenage daughter, Paula; Sole, her sister, who makes a living as a hairdresser; and the mother of both, who died in a fire along with her husband. This character appears first to her sister (Aunt Paula) and then to Sole, although the people with whom she has some unresolved matters are Raimunda and her neighbour in the village, Agustina.