In Cenciella, a small village in Asturias, the bitter struggle between two political groups brings misfortune to Estrella and Urbano, a naïve and honest young couple. Urban is secretary at the town hall and is a liberal idealist but in spite of this a member of the political opposition decides to get revenge on him for his neutrality by raping his girlfriend the Sunday before their wedding. At this very moment Urbano is meditating on something that obsesses him: Sunday light is very different to other days, on Sunday it seems as if the sun looks straight at the earth, and it is difficult not to connect with fellow men. The tragedy arises from a series of circumstances that plot to wreck human happiness: brutal provincial politics, the selfishness of many men and the naiveté of others and the inscrutable designs of fate. The story was inspired by a Ramon Perez de Ayala novel, set in Spain in the early 20th century.