As Fidel Castro storms Habana, a wealthy Batistlano is forced to flee to America with her husband and unborn child. Adria begs her cook, a proud and loyal woman who values her mistress's friendship, to promise she will protect the mansion from the communist upheaval. Over the next forty years Gladys keeps this promise, despite tremendous emotional and physical loss. When Adria's daughter vacations in Cuba and comes to see her mother's old house, Gladys is forced to confront harsh truths. Not only has Adria forgotten her, but now Glayds is accused of leading a life of betrayal in a house that isn't hers. Gladys's struggle mirrors the cultural divide in Cuba that separates the delicately preserved past from the need to survive that is molding a rough-hewed future from the majestic determination and nobility of the Cuban people.