to Jesus. She later touches his hand while serving him at the restaurant. The newspaper is tipped off about Benito baptising the drug lord's newborn child, and Rubén is asked to write about the scandals in his hometown. With the aid of mountains of evidence compiled by his father, he publishes a story about Benito's hospital being a front for money laundering. The church has Amaro write a denial and Rubén is then sacked by the newspaper under pressure from the Catholic lobby. Amelia then phones Rubén and dumps him, berating him with a string of obscenities. Rubén's family home is vandalized by devout Catholics and when he returns home, he assaults Amaro when he sees him in the street. Amaro decides not to press charges, and Rubén avoids jail time. The film delves into the struggle priests have between desire and obedience. Amaro is plagued with guilt about his feelings for Amelia. When the local press begins to reveal the secrets of the parish, Amaro turns to his superior, Benito. Amaro and Amelia start an affair, and Amaro cites verses from the Song of Songs as he seduces her. Later he drapes a robe meant for the statue of Virgin Mary over Amelia during a secret meeting. After Amelia becomes pregnant with Amaro's child, he tries to convince her to leave town to protect him. Later, she decides to try to trick the town by trying to pass off Rubén as the father. She tries to reunite with him and organize a wedding at short notice so that the baby can be attributed to him, but he tells her he is no longer interested. When Benito threatens to report Amaro, Amaro threatens to retaliate over Benito's affair. During an ensuing scuffle, Benito is injured by a fall and is subsequently hospitalized. Eventually, Amaro arranges for a backstreet abortion in the middle of the night. It goes wrong, and Amelia begins to bleed out. Amaro drives her to the hospital in a large city, but she dies before they get there. Amaro weeps. The lurid details of the case are suppressed, but Benito and a cynical old woman know what has happened. A false story is passed around the town, blaming Rubén for impregnating Amelia before marriage, and praising Amaro for breaking into the abortion clinic and liberating Amelia in a failed attempt to save her and her child. Amaro