Claiming that he doesn't know his own past, a rich man enlists an ex-con with an odd bit of detective work. Gregory Arkadin says he can't remember anything before the late 1920s, and convict Guy Van Stratten is happy to take the job of exploring his new acquaintance's life story. Guy's research turns up stunning details about his employer's past, and as his work seems linked to untimely deaths, the mystery surrounding Mr. Arkadin deepens.

Since childhood, Luisa and Miguel have always been good friends; but several years later, as adults, when Spain faces the abyss of the Civil War (1936-1939), they support ideologically opposed camps.

When a Spaniard decides to illegally enter La Habana by swimming, two rogues help him to find work in a sugar mill, where the emigrant falls in love with the daughter of the owner of the cane plantation.

A virtuous Spanish princess becomes queen of Portugal, and soon is affected by the social struggles and the reckless fight to power between the king's faction and that of his son's.

A marginal group celebrates Christmas Eve singing and dancing in the street while a millionaire celebrates the feast offering a great dinner to his friends. The millionaire receives a telegram from his sister in America who announces her visit after more than twenty years without seeing each other…