“Based on a celebrated 1890's novel of Benito Perez Galdos, this is a taut and involving drama that boasts superb performances and an atmospheric use of old Madrid. A fortune-hunter returns from America; his riches excite the greed of his cousin, anxious to marry off her daughter. Instead he chooses her maid, ignoring the girl's clandestine affair with a priest. The mixture of greed and sexual desire is beautifully depicted.”