They were times of war and some towns were controlled by Los Plateados, a group of bandits. In a house in Yautepec, a town that lived in fear, lived Doña Antonia and her daughter, Manuela. Doña Antonia wanted Manuela to marry the town's blacksmith, Nicolás, but she did not want to, since she secretly loved Zarco, the bandit leader of Los Plataados, whom she saw every night in secret and with whom she decided to escape one day. The mother, realizing this, calls Pilar's uncles, Manuela's friend, and her. They help him verify and at that moment they receive a letter from a young man where Manuela confesses that he escaped with the man she loved. Nicolás arrives and knowing what happened decides to ask for help with the commander, but he refuses; Nicolás questions his authority and is sentenced to death, then he realizes that Pilar loved him, and he begins to love and forget Manuela. A trial is made and he is released from all charges. When he returns to Yautepec, he learns that Doña Antonia was dying due to the impact of the news of the escape, and confesses to Pilar her love, after which Doña Antonia dies. Meanwhile, in Xochimancas, Manuela and El Zarco arrive at Los Silverados' lair and Manuela is not treated with respect by the bandits and begins to repent, it is then that she begins to feel attraction for Nicolás. At a party they receive an announcement that said Martín Sánchez was ready to capture and hang up all the bandits, and prepare for battle. The war takes place in La Calavera, where El Zarco is wounded by Nicolás and captured along with Manuela, they are imprisoned and El Zarco is sentenced to death on the orders of President Benito Juárez. He arrives on Pilar and Nicolás' wedding day and when they return to Doña Antonia's ex-house, there they find a platoon ready to shoot El Zarco where Manuela was also present.
