The title refers to the name of the sugar estate of the Gonsalvez de la Rosa family; the action is itself like a hurricane that sweeps the characters along in quick succession. Don Fernando Gonsalvez de la Rosa, an honest, hard-working Spanish immigrant, made his fortune and raised a family in Cuba. He and his wife, Maela (a caring but non-assertive person), failed to instil the same values in their children that made "Tembladera" a successful venture.
Mario, the eldest son, educated in Spain, feels like a stranger in Cuba, and is totally ineffectual. Gustavo is a corrupt young rake. Luciano, the widower of a daughter of Fernando and Maela, is a sincere but defeated man. Only Isolina, the daughter, and Joaquin Artigas, Fernando's foster son, have a dream of saving the family estate from foreign take-over. Isolina has a natural son, Teófilo, an alienated adolescent, and Joaquin has a daughter, Isabel, a loving young woman, who is seduced by Gustavo.
Financial setbacks are forcing Don Fernando to sell "Tembladera." Gustavo is arrested for murder and is bailed out by a Mr. Carpetbagger, who wants "Tembladera" transferred to the United States sugar company that is buying up all the land in the area. Joaquin believes he can administer the estate and persuades Don Fernando not to sell, and he also insists that Gustavo be brought to trial for his crime.
Isabel confronts Gustavo before he can escape for Mexico, and Joaquin and the others discover that he has tricked Isabel. Don Fernando disowns Gustavo (who later commits suicide offstage) and allows Joaquin and Isolina to take over "Tembladera," which they are determined to turn into a productive enterprise once more.