Returning to the present, Pio finishes his part of the story and Juniper visits the Abbess to ask her about the Marquesa. When the Viceroy's guests insult Michaela by treating her as a common entertainer, the Marquesa pretends to be her friend, thus winning her confidence. The Marquesa, determined to win the Viceroy for her daughter, embarks upon a scheme to destroy Michaela. Soon after, the Viceroy invites Michaela to the palace again and she accepts. When Esteban is well, Manuel abruptly leaves for an around-the-world voyage. Full of remorse, Esteban tries to hang himself but Manuel cuts him down and nurses him back to health. Manuel's return creates tension between the brothers, and upon returning home one night, Manuel finds a stack of unmailed letters Michaela had written to him and a note from Esteban, apologizing for never having mailed them. Jealous over the Viceroy's interest in Michaela, Manuel forbids her to go to the palace and warns her that the aristocracy will make her an object of ridicule. On the night that Michaela is to meet the Viceroy, Manuel returns, and she foresakes her audience with the nobleman to spend the night with him. The Viceroy, bored and resentful over being exiled from Spain to the colony of Peru, becomes intrigued by Michaela and invites her to the palace. Under Pio's guidance, Michaela develops into the leading actress of the Comedia Theater. After Manuel departs, Pio becomes Michaela's mentor, schooling her in acting and proper comportment. One day, Manuel tells Michaela that he is sailing to Spain and asks her to wait for him. When Juniper questions Pio about the beloved Peruvian actress Michaela Villegas, Pio recalls first seeing her perform in the streets of Lima: Micheala is attracted to the adventurous Manuel, but Esteban, Manuel's morose twin brother, despises her. There Juniper visits Uncle Pio, a theatrical entrepeneur who is widely regarded as the pulse of his people.

Deeply affected by the catastrophe, Brother Juniper, the pastor of the chapel, journeys to Lima in quest of why these five people were chosen to die.

In 1774, in Peru, a rickety bridge that for one hundred years has spanned the gorge leading to the chapel of San Luis Rey collapses, sending five people plunging to their death.

The bridge of luis rey