Spanning a half-century in the complex, magical and sensual city of Cartagena, Colombia, the sweeping romantic epic tells the story of a man who waits over fifty years for his one true love. Florentino Ariza (Javier Bardem), who discovers his life's passion when he sees Fermina Daza (Giovanna Mezzogiono) through the window of her father's villa. Though Florentino's letters awaken the young beauty's subdued heart, her father (John Leguizamo) demands that she marry into one of Cartagena's grand families and forbids her from seeing him. As years go by, Fermina marries the sophisticated and sensible Dr. Juvenal Urbino (Benjamin Bratt), who has brought order and medicine to Cartagena, stemming the waves of cholera that have mysteriously haunted the city. Juvenal sweeps her off to Paris for a lengthy honeymoon, and when they begin their life together back home, she has all but forgotten her first love. But Florentino has not forgotten her. Now a wealthy shipowner, Florentino engages in a series of affairs but still yearns for Fermina. His heart is patient, and he will wait a lifetime for the chance to be with her again.