In Colombia just after the Great War, an old man falls from a ladder; dying, he professes great love for his wife. After the funeral, a man calls on the widow - she dismisses him angrily. Flash back more than 50 years to the day Florentino Ariza, a telegraph boy, falls in love with Fermina Daza, the daughter of a mule trader.

When a Spanish Jesuit goes into the South American wilderness to build a mission in the hope of converting the Indians of the region, a slave hunter is converted and joins his mission. When Spain sells the colony to Portugal, they are forced to defend all they have built against the Portuguese aggressors.

Eduardo is a young upper-class Colombian who is kidnapped by a guerrilla group, and becomes trapped in the middle of the crossfire between the military, paramilitary and guerrilla groups. His outlook on life and his own country, will change radically after the traumatic experience that lives along several months, in which he risks his life in multilple transfers to different camps, as well as armed clashes, along with the extreme loneliness that puts him on the brink of madness.

Success and power are not always a guarantee for radiant joy, because when love and illusion are absent, loneliness creates a mighty void. This is the case for Minister Gilma Zuleta, who has achieved most everything, except for love. As her career peaks, Gilma suffers a strong depression that leads her to want to take her own life. She cannot do it herself so she hires a hitman. She has a month left to devote herself to unbridled madness, but she did not foresee finding love, and it's too late to undo her deal...

Chronicle of life in a typical Colombian village where residents and visitors alike are induced by the soporific climate to lead lives of indolence. Not even the sight of cadavers floating in the river can shock them.