The novel opens with a mature Antonio narrating and recalling that period of his youth when Ultima, an old folk healer and midwife, came to live with his family. The night before Ultima arrives, Antonio dreams about the night of his birth, hearing again the loud, angry arguing between his mother's brothers and his father's relatives. His mother, María, is from a family of farmers living in El Puerto de los Lunas, and his father, Gabriel, is from a family of plains cattlemen in Las Pasturas. His mother's people revere the earth; they are rooted to it and depend on its crops. His father's family are restless and nomadic, inclined to be rootless and adventurous. Within Antonio flows the blood of two vastly different lifestyles. Which one will claim his soul? Antonio perceives that only Ultima, the woman who delivered him, knows the secret to his destiny.
After his father rides away to fetch Ultima, Antonio is saddened to think that soon he will begin school and will be separated from his mother, who is insisting that he and his sisters exhibit model behavior and great respect when Ultima arrives—especially Antonio, for he is destined, she says, to become a priest—a vocation that makes Antonio anxious and uncomfortable.
Upon Ultima's arrival, Antonio impulsively calls her by name—instead of "la Grande" —but Ultima insists that the boy means no disrespect, and she implies that she and Antonio share a special bond. Ultima brings her owl with her—a most unique owl, for it hoots only in a soft, songlike way, lulling the Márez family to sleep that night.
