In Twentieth Century Mexico, a man dies of a heart attack, while at the same time, hearing the wailing of a woman.
Fernando brandishes a large book to provide proof for his claims, which tells a story from the Elizabethan era, and how a previous member of the Acuña had a hand in the curse of the Cortés lineage.
As he leaves her house, Cortés is accosted by robbers, and Diego de Acuña (played by Pereda in a duel role) comes to his assistance while claiming to be on patrol of the city.
Ricardo returns to his Ana Maria and they watch their son sleep while Fernando begins to read a book in the library.
During this down time, the hooded figure uses the hidden passage to the library to steal a second book that Fernando intended to show Ricardo.
While Ricardo investigates, he sends Mario with Ana Maria and Juanito somewhere safe in the house, and finds Fernando's body and has another member of the staff, Francisco alert the police.
The authorities arrive, and Ricardo leads them to the passage where the figure disappeared, and then reveals the second book hidden under small trapdoor and takes place in the Age of Discovery, and gives the origin to the curse, the dagger, and the ring.
It reached the point where she cursed her former lover and all his children to suffer for all eternity, and later committed suicide with the dagger used in previous scenes in the film, and wearing the strange ring both Ana and the hooded figure wore.
With this revealed, Ricardo and the police open the passage the figure escaped through and stop them from killing Juanito on a sacrificial altar with the dagger, shooting them dead.
[5] The film's story is based on that of La llorona, a crying woman from Hispanic folklore who mourns her dead child.
[7] According to the newspaper El Universal, the filmmakers found difficulty in finding a voice for the ghost that would be convincing and not encourage laughter from the audience.
Among the few dissenting critics, Chano Urueta of Mundo cinematográfico found that the film trivialized Mexican history to create a Hollywood-like story.
Peter Conheim of the Cinema Preservation Alliance stated this print was at least three generation removed from the primary source.