Raquel (42) has been working as a maid for the numerous and affluent Valdés family for 23 years. She is a sour and introverted woman that nonetheless feels like part of the family. Raquel suffers from debilitating migraines that have lately been increasing in frequency. Trouble begins when Pilar, her mistress, hires a second maid to help her. Raquel, feeling threatened, drives the newcomer away with cruel and childish psychological abuse. This happens again and again, getting worse every time, and several maids quit or simply run away in disgust.
Raquel holds such power over Pilar that she finally yields and stops hiring other maids. This causes a crisis within the family as Camila, the eldest daughter of the household, resents her mother’s submission to this sour woman and rebels against this.
Raquel’s migraines suddenly get dangerously worse, and one day she passes out while serving breakfast. While she’s recovering, Pilar hires Lucy, a cheerful woman from the countryside. Lucy gets along very well with the entire family, and Raquel sees her as her worst threat ever. She weakly gets up from her bed to try and make her life impossible. However, Lucy retaliates with affection and humor, until Raquel realizes that nobody had ever been truly fond of her or treated her so nicely, and her heart of stone finally yields.
Lucy invites Raquel to spend Christmas with her family in a farm. For the first time in her life, Lucy is happy and feels treated like an equal. She even finds herself attracted to Lucy’s cousin Eric, who fancies her.
Raquel is so grateful that, upon returning to Santiago, she sets out to organize a surprise party for Lucy’s birthday. However, her happiness won’t last, as Lucy announces she hasn’t been able to adapt to the city, she misses her family too much and will be quitting the job to go back to the farm soon. Raquel is devastated, but ultimately she gets over the loss with her newfound positive attitude towards life.
The Maid was broadcast on SBS ONE at Thursday 27 April 2017, 14:00.