Manny Pangilinan's uncle, Jesus writes a letter to the chairman of TV5. Upon reaching to the network station, Jesus tells his nephew a story about Rosario, Jesus' mother.
Rosario, is a sophisticated Filipinaflapper in the 1920s who has just arrived from New York City, and is spending her vacation in their hacienda. She is the mestiza daughter of Portuguese ship captain Don Enrique and Filipina Doña Adela,[3] Rosario is a passionate woman who lives according to her heart's desires and is ahead of her time.[4] She meets and falls in love with Vicente Velez,[3] an older man who manages the tobacco plantation owned by Rosario's family. When Rosario's father finds out about his daughter's scandalous affair, he sends Rosario to a convent. She escapes, and elopes with Vicente to Manila where they raise a family. But Rosario's life of married bliss slowly crumbles when Vicente becomes ill with tuberculosis, and she is lured to committing adultery. Temptation and scandal still hound Rosario as she continues to defy the moral restrictions of her time.
She finally commits adultery by having a relationship with another man named Alberto Fernandez, Vicente learns that his wife had cheating on him after their daughter Maria Rosario discover their affair, he decides to leave her with his daughter. After recovering from his tuberculosis, he soon files a case of adultery towards both Rosario and Alberto as well as he was silently informed by his friend Carmen that Rosario was also pregnant with Alberto's child as the court finds Rosario and Alberto guilty of adultery and sentenced them to exile for three years, six months and twenty one days. During the exile, they go to Hong Kong, where Rosario gives birth to Alberto's son, Jesus. Years later, they return to the Philippines and travel in different provinces until they decide to stay in Manila. Rosario, Alberto and Jesus live in an apartment complex owned by his friend Miguel Delgado. During their stay, Miguel's caretaker, Carding also has interests towards Rosario, leading Alberto to lost his interest to both her and his own son, thinking she was cheating on him when he finally gets a job.
Rosario's entire life changes from a sophisticated flapper to a poor housewife. She was soon received a ticket where she can finally meet her now grown daughter Maria Rosario whose name is changed to Soledad and perform the piano in her concert. Upon meeting her former family while Vicente was away to fetch Soledad's step-mother, Carmen. Rosario sadly learns that her former family including Soledad had never acknowledged her as both a mother and a former wife due to her adultery and Soledad had learned to hate her own mother. Vicente confronts Rosario who has already atoned for her sins but they refuse to accept her apology and leave her. Four months later, Rosario is having troubles with her debt on her rent from Manuel. As Carding discovers that Rosario is having sex with Miguel as payment for her debts, he angrily pummels him to death and tells her and her son to leave.
Back in the present, Jesus continues to tell his nephew that he was raised by his father's relatives since Rosario had left Carding who decided not to destroy his life by taking another relationship. He soon gives his nephew the few remaining pictures of Rosario that survived a flood. They have no money to buy lots in the cemetery but instead rent the tomb for her corpse. When they have no rent to pay, her tomb is given away and Rosario's corpse is removed, never to be seen again. Jesus tells his nephew that all his mother wanted was to ask forgiveness for her sins but was unable to make amends to her parents, her husband, and her own children.
After encountering his nephew Manny, Jesus succeeds in bringing together of both families of Rosario. Telling his mother's life story was enough to seek her forgiveness she had longed for. Despite everything it happened, he loves his mother and she will remain in his memory.
