¡Ay, qué tiempos, señor don Simón!

Pedro lives with his daughters Rita and Marta in a fishing village in the Papaloapan basin. Rita loves José, a young man who has been fired for organizing a strike to demand workers’ rights. To settle her father’s debt to Don Antonio, the mill owner, Rita offers herself as a pledge. She leaves her humble town and is exploited by several men, including a married politician who turns her into a dancing star.

Michoacán, 1938. Ponciano Robles, an old bachelor, is accustomed to helping poor people in his town. A mule driver begs Ponciano to ask for the hand of a beautiful peasant woman named Rosenda on his behalf. The young woman’s father accepts, but the mule driver repents and leaves the town to avoid the commitment. The kind-hearted Ponciano agrees to take care of the abandoned woman after her parents throw her out of the house.

In Mexico in the 1920’s, the imminent succession of the next military leader is about to be decided. The current leader favors the candidacy of General Jiménez, a government minister, but many people are in favor of General Aguirre, minister of war. Aguirre withdraws from the race, but his supporters continue to back him. Aguirre must choose between his loyalty to the regime and the opportunity to gain power.