La Madrastra is a Mexican telenovela that aired on El Canal de las Estrellas in 2005. The program's main character is María Fernández Acuña, a woman who returns to Mexico after spending 20 years in prison for a murder she didn't commit only to find that her children believe that she is dead and that the picture of an unknown woman hanging above their fireplace is their mother. The telenovela follows María's attempts to regain her children's love without telling them who she really is, her complicated relationship with her ex-husband, Esteban, and her quest to find out which of her former friends really killed Patricia. Including María, the main cast consists of approximately twenty-five characters, as well as other recurring or minor characters.
