The story unfolds in a small town in Venezuela. Miriam contracts leukaemia and dies giving birth to a baby girl. Her husband, Dr. Mirabal, dies in an accident. The child, Gisela, is taken in by her maternal grandfather, Mr. Mendoza. His wife, who is also Miriam's stepmother, wants the Mendoza fortune to go to her twin sons from her first marriage, Juan Carlos and Rolando. For this reason, she gives the girl to some gypsy circus owners who are passing through town.
Twenty years later, the circus returns. Mr. Mendoza and his sister, Yolanda, see Gisela and notice that the little gypsy girl has the same features as the deceased Miriam, leading them to conclude that she is the lost child. Rolando, as ambitious as his mother, learns that Gisela is the heiress to the Mendoza fortune. He seduces her and marries her to seize the wealth. On their honeymoon, Gisela overhears a conversation and discovers that Rolando doesn't love her; he married her for her money. Devastated, Gisela returns home unaware that Rolando has been murdered, and she is presumed dead. Juan Carlos, Rolando's twin brother, hates Gisela and believes she killed him. He assumes Rolando's identity to exact his revenge.
