在家乡普拉森西亚，年轻姑娘伊内斯·苏亚雷斯不顾外祖父反对，爱上了风流倜傥的外地商人胡安·德·马拉加，并与其私奔。谁料到胡安嗜赌成性，败光家产后去了新大陆，只为寻找传说中的印加黄金城。一年多没有丈夫的消息后，伊内斯漂洋过海，穿越丛林，她的双眼第一次见证殖民者的暴虐，她的双手第一次沾上了鲜血…

皮萨罗和阿尔玛格罗为争夺印加帝国首都库斯科的管辖权兵戎相见。阿尔玛格罗战败后被捕，将征服智利的愿望留给了皮萨罗的心腹大将佩德罗·德·巴尔迪维亚。此时，已经成为寡妇的伊内斯在巴尔迪维亚的帮助下得到皮萨罗的接见，并在城内暂时安顿下来。孤男寡女渐生情愫，去往南方的愿望也日渐强烈，既是为了荣耀，也是为了逃避世俗的目光…

巴尔迪维亚终于获准出征智利，却苦于招不到人马。阿尔玛格罗为了手下人和儿子的自由，命令他们变节效忠皮萨罗，自己却被埃尔南多·皮萨罗绞死。伊内斯四处奔走，为巴尔迪维亚招兵买马。凶悍的智利土著马普切人第二次迎来了强盗...

巴尔迪维亚带上他的远征队，浩浩荡荡向南出发了。本该为他提供补给的德·拉·奥斯迟迟不现身，却在某天夜里潜入伊内斯的帐篷。茫茫大漠里，缺水少粮，军心涣散，马普切人又设下重重障碍，西班牙人该怎样走出地狱般的阿塔卡马沙漠？

为换取和平，马普切族领袖米契马隆科愿意带西班牙人寻找金矿，而野心勃勃的巴尔迪维亚却迟迟不释放被扣为人质的三名酋长。一招声东击西让圣地亚哥成为血与火的炼狱，被激怒的伊内斯冲向了牢房…

Three months after Santiago was destroyed, poverty and famine seem to have taken their toll on the city’s inhabitants: the Promised Land turned out not to be what they were told. In the face of this desperate situation, a small group of soldiers who are dissatisfied with the project of conquest plots to rise up against Valdivia, who seems oblivious to the suffering of his own people.

Inés and Quiroga try to get married despite all the obstacles that Valdivia puts up for them. After the couple formalize their relationship, the Governor becomes extremely irascible and pours all his anger and frustration into the conquest of Arauco. So much so, that Valdivia proposes a crazy plan to complete it as soon as possible and thus satisfy his hunger for glory.