The most accepted picture of molecular events following a photoexcitation dictates that an ultrafast, sub-picosecond internal conversion between electronic states should occur at the proximity of a conical intersection, where the nonadiabatic couplings are large enough to induce the transition. If, however, the molecule rests on regions of considerable energy gaps, the gap law predicts that the internal conversion will be slow, competing with other time-consuming processes such as intersystem crossing and luminescence. Although such a picture tends to be correct, there may be exceptions.