Басилио никогда не видел Адриану и не представляет, где ее искать. Он начинает поиски с дома Беатрис, матери Адрианы и супруги одного из министров Гомеса. Удивленная Беатрис сообщает, что девочка умерла, но Басилио ей не верит и отправляется к Алехандро Тельесу, старинному другу Эстебана. Там он находит юную сироту по имени Адриана, которая живет вместе с семьей Тельес.

Адриана не знает о своем происхождении и отдает бумаги, которые ей дал Басилио, Алехандро, так как они все на английском. Алехандро пугается, узнав, что его подопечная - наследница богатого состояния. Могущественный капитан Маурисио Лофриего, жених Марии Эухении Тельес, интересуется Адрианой, а она, на свою беду, отвечает ему взаимностью. Маурисио разрывает помолвку с Эухенией и проводит ночь с Адрианой.

Алехандро видит его выходящим из комнаты Адрианы и решает отомстить девушке за оскорбление. нанесенное его семье. Он организует ее похищение, и помещает в мрачный сумасшедший дом доктора Асоте, безумного врача, который помогает аристократам скрывать их зловещие тайны.

LA DUEÑA. It´s 1928. Esteban Rigores, an opponent of the brutal regime of Gen. Juan Vicente Gomez, lies wounded on a beach after taking part in a failed coup d'etat. Fearing death is near, Esteban begs Basilio, his faithful and mute servant to search for Adriana, his daughter, and hand her the documents that will make her the heir to his large fortune. Neither Esteban nor Basilio have ever seen Adriana and they don´t know what she looks like. Diligent Basilio starts by asking the girl's mother, the former Beatriz Ayala, now married to Salvador Asensio, one of Gomez's ministers. Beatriz is horrified to see Basilio, and tells him her daughter died in childhood, or at least that was what her parents had told her. Unconvinced, Basilio goes to see Don Alejandro, Esteban´s friend. On arrival at his house, Basilio is greeted by a young woman named Adriana. Her looks, age, and name tell him she is Esteban´s daughter and he gives her the documents. The problem is that Adriana doesn't know her origins. She´s been told she´s an orphan whom Alejandro adopted out of charity. Although Alejandro and Encarnación, his wife, have always been kind to Adriana, she´s nothing but a glorified servant. Alejandro´s children have mixed feelings about her. The haughty María Consuelo looks down on her, idealistic Luis Alberto loves her secretly, and young María Eugenia who's always seen Adriana as a sister, now resents her because her fiancé is attracted to the girl's beauty. Ma. Eugenia´s fiancé, the arrogant Captain Mauricio Lofriego, is a man used to getting what he wants. It's a trait he has inherited from Purificacion Burgos, his formidable mother. Purificacion is not only one of the richest women in Venezuela, but she´s also got General Gomez's ear. Few people are privy that Burgos fortune comes from prostitution. Adriana gives Alejandro the documents that she´s unable to read since they are drafted in French and English. Alejandro reads them and learns that Adriana is now the owner of a huge fortune. That same evening, Mauricio breaks off his engagement with María Eugenia and makes love to Adriana. Alejandro sees him leaving the girl's room and vows revenge. Several attempts are made to separate Adriana from Mauricio, but their love grows stronger, especially when she learns she´s pregnant. Meanwhile a recuperated Esteban and Beatriz have joined efforts to investigate the whereabouts of their child. Mauricio and Adriana decide to run off to Curaçao, but then she vanishes mysteriously. Under orders from Alejandro and Purificacion, Adriana has been taken to Dr. Azote´s asylum, the most dreaded place in Venezuela. Azote is a quack who runs a mental hospital where those unwanted by Venezuelan high society are kept. Adriana is subjected to horrible tortures that cause her to lose her baby as well as her mind. Esteban escapes to Europe, and Mauricio is told that Adriana had only seduced him following her father's orders to lure him to their cause. He marries Maria Eugenia. Several years go by, Adriana is a wreck, her beauty and mind have been destroyed, yet she has two supporters among her fellow inmates: kind Helena, and Saul, a political prisoner. When Gomez dies, Saul´s friends help him escape from the asylum and he takes Adriana and Helena with him. After a long convalescence, Adriana recovers her sanity, although her face has been destroyed. She seeks Basilio and, with his help, travels to Paris to meet her father. Esteban uses his fortune to restore his daughter's beauty and to educate her. In 1941, a beautiful and enigmatic stranger arrives in Venezuela. Her name is Ximena, but she is called La Dueña because she owns an immense fortune that she is about to use to destroy her enemies.

LA DUEÑA. En 1929, un grupo de hombres desembarca en las playas venezolanas dispuestos a derrocar al tirano Juan Vicente Gómez. Este intento fracasa y los revolucionarios son perseguidos y asesinados. Esteban Rigores, uno de ellos, está mal herido y creyendo que va a morir le pide a su fiel sirviente mudo Basilio que busque a su hija Adriana y le entregue los papeles que la harán "dueña" de una gran fortuna.

Basilio nunca ha visto a Adriana y no sabe donde buscarla. Comienza en casa de Beatriz, madre de Adriana y esposa de un ministro de Gómez. La sorprendida Beatriz le dice que la niña murió, pero Basilio no le cree y va a casa de Alejandro Téllez, antiguo amigo de Esteban y allí encuentra una jovencita huérfana que se llama Adriana y que vive de allegada de los Téllez.

Adriana desconoce sus orígenes y le hace entrega a Alejandro de los papeles que le dió Basilio ya que están en inglés. Alejandro se asusta al ver que su recogida es una rica heredera. El prepotente Capitán Mauricio Lofriego novio de María Eugenia Téllez, está interesado en Adriana y ella, a su pesar, le corresponde. Mauricio rompe su compromiso con María Eugenia y pasa esa noche con Adriana.

Alejandro lo ve salir del cuarto de Adriana y decide vengarse de la muchacha por la afrenta hecha a su familia, hace que rapten a Adriana y la encierra en el lóbrego manicomio del Dr. Azote, un médico loco que se ocupa de desaparecer a todo aquel que moleste a la aristocracia venezolana.