Summary
Highlights
A flashback shows a woman named Madel, who is complimented on her beauty. She is then identified as Nelly, and someone expresses joy at seeing her.
Inay asks about King, who has left. She encourages Leonor to consider King as a suitor, despite Leonor's lack of feelings for him. Leonor's family wants her to try to love him, implying financial or social pressure. Meanwhile, Pepe is about to leave for Spain.
Pepe and his friends decide to form a group for Ilustrados in Paris, similar to those in Barcelona and Madrid. They name it "Indios Bravos." Pepe's friends tease him about Nelly, but he insists Leonor owns his heart.
Charles brings Leonor flowers, expressing his feelings. He asks her to call him Charles instead of Senor. He desires privacy with her and confesses his love.
Another character expresses confidence in a person named Whaler, who will help them. There's concern about farmers gathering, led by Pasano Mercado, suggesting a land dispute and growing unrest against the powerful, hinting at historical socio-political issues.
A woman cries, unable to help because she doesn't know what it's like to love someone with all her heart, only to be left heartbroken.
Padre returns, expressing his dislike for the cold European climate and yearning for the Philippines. He discusses plans to expel the Mercados from their land.
The woman who was heartbroken earlier, assumed to be Leonor, expresses her pain and weariness of love. Charles, present with her, assures her he's different from other men and she can love again. He proposes to her, asking her to spend her life with him.
Pepe receives a letter from the Philippines and learns that Leonor is marrying someone else. He is devastated, stating it's as if he's been killed.
On her wedding day, Leonor finds numerous letters from Pepe that her mother had hidden. She confronts her mother, accusing her of deception and lamenting that she was told Pepe didn't love her. Her mother claims it was for Leonor's future and to protect her from imprisonment like Pepe.
Leonor agrees to marry Kip but sets three conditions: she will never play music or sing again, she will wear black on her wedding day, and her mother must always be by her side since she was the one who desired the marriage.
Pepe is found by a friend, distraught. He is confronted by someone (possibly Charles or a rival) and told that an Englishman won't get everything he wants. Pepe lashes out, saying he needs to be hurt to lessen the emotional pain he feels.
Pepe cries out that Leonor didn't wait for him. A call to action is made to burn all traces of something, emphasizing that death awaits in the Philippines, but it only comes once in a person's life, suggesting a willingness to fight or sacrifice.