Love and Cruelty is the riveting drama of Gabriel and Demian, identical twins separated at birth, whose lives took opposite directions. Gabriel was raised in the lap of luxury and sheltered by his loving adoptive parents. Demian, on the other hand, grew up in poverty and neglect, and the intense suffering he was forced to endure warped his soul and turned him to a life of crime. While running from the police, he was involved in an accident and lost a leg. When Demian learned of Gabriel’s existence, overwhelming hatred possessed his mind. He focused all of his resentment and rage on his brother, and from that moment on, his sole purpose has been to destroy him.

But Gabriel’s life is far from being free of care. His first wife, who gave him his first-born, Rogelio, fell critically ill and died while giving birth to their second child, Paulina. Gabriel was devastated. After a period of bereavement, he met Joselyn, an attractive young widow with a daughter of her own, and married her. The first years of their marriage were happy ones, and the couple was blessed with a son they named Luisito. Their relationship began to turn ugly when they had a car accident where Joselyn suffered a miscarriage and Luisito’s legs were badly hurt. Since that terrible incident, Joselyn has never ceased blaming Gabriel, and has grown insanely jealous, alienating him more and more each day. To compound his misery, Gabriel must share his roof with his in-laws, Clemente and his cold, greedy and heartless wife Miriam.

Demian’s marriage is a sham. Taking advantage of Regina’s unrequited love, he won her heart with deceit. Regina, shy and submissive, loved Gabriel, but her parents did everything they could to discourage her. Married life has been a living hell for her. Demian takes delight in abusing her and torturing her with his jealousy, even to the point of claiming that their son Juan Cristobal is Gabriel’s bastard child.

Juan Cristobal and Paulina, Gabriel’s daughter, fall deeply in love and must fight against the bad blood that exists between their families, and against the vicious machinations of Joselyn’s daughter, Karen.

Gabriel’s household is deeply affected by the arrival of Clemente’s illegitimate daughter, Mariangela. Although Miriam forbids her husband to acknowledge her legally, she allows Mariangela to stay on as Luisito’s governess, for the sheer pleasure of humiliating her and making her the target of her hatred. Others, however, see the sweet, engaging young woman in a different light. Leonardo, the son of Candelaria, the housekeeper, is one of them. He loses his heart to her at first sight and is determined to win her love. Mariangela’s arrival will bring about unexpected changes in everyone’s life, but most of all... in Gabriel’s heart.

However, Mariangela’s will not be the only presence to affect the peace of this family, and also Demian’s life. Dolores, the sister of Joselyn’s first husband, is free again after being framed for her brother’s murder and spending years in prison. Beneath her humble nun’s habit, Dolores conceals the shocking secret of a past that now returns to demand justice... and revenge.