Victoria is one of the most recognized fashion designers in Mexico. She lives in a sumptuous mansion with her husband Osvaldo, who is a famous actor, their daughter Fer and his son (from his first marriage) Maximiliano. One could say that Victoria is a truly successful woman, but it wasn’t easy getting there. As a young woman, she was employed as a maid by Bernarda, a religious fanatic whose son Juan Pablo was studying to become a priest. Juan Pablo met Victoria, they fell in love, and one night they surrendered to their love. When Victoria realized she was pregnant, Juan Pablo had already gone back to the seminary school and Bernarda kicked her out of her house. All alone, Victoria gave birth to her daughter, but three years later Bernarda caused an accident that sent Victoria to the hospital, and her little daughter Maria was lost and ended up in an orphanage. Since then, Victoria has never stopped searching for her daughter.

Twenty years later, a beautiful young woman called Maria Desamparada comes to Victoria’s fashion house and is hired as a model. In just a short time, Maria Desamparada gets to be her top model; however, Victoria thinks the young woman is flirting with her husband and feels terribly jealous, so she humiliates Maria and treats her with contempt. But, it is her step-son, Maximiliano, who is trying to seduce Maria under a false identity. But he soon realizes she is an honest, innocent young woman and cannot help falling truly in love with her. Right after they start their relationship, Maria Desamparada discovers that she is pregnant; but before she can tell Max, he confesses to her that he has been engaged all this time to Jimena, and that now, he has to marry her because she is expecting his child. Feeling betrayed, Maria Desamparada tells him nothing and walks away. When Victoria learns about Maria’s relationship with Max, she makes the worst mistake of her life: she accuses her of being a gold-digger and fires her; treating her exactly as Bernarda treated her before, never suspecting that she is throwing her own lost daughter out into the street.

Victoria runs into Juan Pablo—now an ordained priest—and tells him that they had a daughter and Bernarda has always known this. Juan Pablo feels devastated; he begs her to forgive him and promises not to stop until he finds their daughter. When he meets Maria Desamparada, they like each other immediately and he becomes his confessor and counselor, but when he is close to finding out whom she really is, Bernarda reveals the whole truth to him in confession, thus forcing him to keep the secret to himself. 

Meanwhile, Maximiliano has married Jimena without knowing that the child she is expecting is not his. Jimena loses the baby in an accident seemingly caused by Max and starts to lose her mind and make his life miserable. Guilt forces him to remain at her side, even though the woman he truly loves is Maria Desamparada.

On the other hand, Osvaldo feels that Victoria pays less and less attention to him, and he starts to cheat on her with Linda, Maria Desamparada’s friend. This affair is a heavy blow for Victoria when she finds out and, heartbroken, she asks Osvaldo to leave. So, in a short time, the lives of Victoria and everyone around her seem to be falling apart, and only their own faith and hope can sustain them from falling apart.