Koan

Though S. Abbey of Santa María Miraria is in the middle of Madrid, the monastery predates the city by centuries. The place has always been known for miracles, and even today you'll find a smattering of abandoned eyeglasses and crutches on the front step. Maybe that's why fifteen-year-old María Teresa attends Mass there—because she's praying for a miracle of her own.

María Teresa is the daughter of one of Madrid's most wealthy businessmen, and she's been promised to marry Guillermo, the son of another tycoon. It's not that María Teresa doesn't like Guillermo, but she is already in love with someone else, her longtime friend Álvaro. Caught up in a flurry, María Teresa finds herself in the beds of both her suitors. As misfortune would have it, she becomes pregnant. Her parents demand to know who the father is—and for reasons unknown even to María Teresa, she blurts out the name of the parish priest.

Her parents confront Father Xabier, and he does not deny the allegations. Instead, he promises to care for the child. The news gets out and rumors fester, and soon parish attendance falls, Father Xabier is excommunicated and the centuries-old monastery of miracles is dissolved.

Here, María Teresa's father sees a business opportunity, her mother sees juicy gossip, and Maria Teresa herself only sees torment. And Xabier... He sees a new life for himself—one he never imagined.