Florentino Ariza is a young man who falls madly in love with Fermina Daza. She, oppressed by her family and unaware of what it means to feel in love, marries the prominent doctor Juvenal Urbino. Years go by, Florentino has various relationships but he could never overcome his love for Fermina. Eventually, the couple reunites, old and nearly 80 now, after 51 years, 9 months, and 4 days, exactly the same number of years that this love has lasted.