Antonio Chan, Christopher De Leon, a businessman, sired children with three women: Sol, Kris Aquino, a native Filipina who begets Janet, Carmina Villarroel, Grace, Judy Ann Santos, and Lean, Cogie Domingo; LuShui, Zsa Zsa Padilla, a Chinese woman who was betrothed to Antonio during a visit to China in the 1980s and the mother of Rose, Karylle; and Belinda, Lorna Tolentino, a Filipino-Chinese woman who is the mother of Ingrid, Alessandra de Rossi, and Erickson, Richard Gutierrez.
Sol reluctantly allows the two other women to live in their household, but her relationship with Antonio deteriorates. After Sol gives birth to Lean, Antonio accuses her of being impregnated by someone else while he was in China, which prompts her to move out with Lean. As her daughters follow, Janet is run over. Sol tries to help, but Antonio banishes her from the household and takes custody of their daughters, who are subsequently raised by Belinda. Sol raises Lean alone in the province as Antonio cuts off contact with them and refuses to recognize Lean as his son. LuShui eventually moves out too, leaving Belinda as Antonio's only companion over the years.
In the present, Antonio is killed during a robbery. His wake and funeral bring together his wives and children. Belinda, as Antonio's last partner, attempts to dominate the funeral proceedings, facing resistance from LuShui and Sol, who have become friends. Belinda also tries to monopolize Antonio's inheritance, going so far as to evict LuShui from her residence and bar Lean from attending the funeral. The mounting tensions force Belinda's secretly pregnant daughter Ingrid to move out, leaving behind Erickson, a young man shaped by his mother's ambitions, who disapproves of his relationship with Yna.
After Erickson allows Lean, as Antonio's first-born son, to lead the funeral honors, Belinda resolves to keep Antonio's other children from receiving their inheritance. Her insinuations lead to Antonio's brother Johnson, who is married to a now-paralyzed Janet, to frame Sol for Antonio's murder, resulting in Sol's arrest by corrupt policemen. A suspicious Grace, sympathetic to Sol and LuShui, investigates and uncovers the truth, leading to Johnson and his accomplices' arrest and Sol's eventual release. Janet, who grew up hating Sol, ends her feud with her mother and reconciles with her, while Belinda denies involvement and narrowly avoids charges herself.
Grace tells Lean and Sol that, during the investigation, she learned from a friend of Antonio's that he had finally acknowledged Lean as his son after a DNA test and had revised his will to leave part of his estate to Lean to atone for his absence. Lean forgives Antonio after reading an emotional letter from his father shortly before death. As Sol and LuShui's families celebrate New Year's Eve together, Erickson, overwhelmed by the family conflict and by Belinda warning off Yna, fatally shoots himself in front of his mother, sending Belinda into a deep depression, where Sol and LuShui offer comfort.
A year later, Ingrid returns with Antonio's grandchild as Sol, LuShui, and a contrite Belinda celebrate the New Year with their reconciled clan.
