Tour guide Berta is having a tough time making ends meet. She’s forced to let her son Omel travel to the big city to take a job at an electronics store. Luis is studying to be a seaman, but can’t seem to pass his exams. His girlfriend Dolores is working as an intern at a resort, and dreams of going abroad as well. Sandra, following a painful event back in Manila, returns to her native Bohol, taking her spoiled son Eric with her.

Laos, 1866. Hirondelle d’Or, a mysterious spy, follows closely the Mekong exploration mission led by Captain De Castel. As the expedition moves deeper into the country, the young woman and the military man attract each other, become closer and fall in love. The botanist Odile Dubuisson and her daughter Marie explore the jungles of northern Laos, 150 years later, following in the footsteps of their illustrious ancestor. Referring to a poem by the explorer: On the branch of the bamboo / The larva of the butterfly / One day will become a flower, Odile understands that he has seen the giant bamboo bloom. She also understands that the giant bamboo will bloom again. This is the perfect opportunity for her to witness a rare event. From then on, the story intertwines present and past.