Arde Madrid is set in 1961 Madrid, where Ana Mari is a Franco follower and an instructor in the Female Section. On Franco's orders, she starts to work as a maid in actress Ava Gardner's home with a mission to spy on her; she must pretend to be married to hustler Manolo, who will become Gardner's chauffeur.
Manolo tries to take advantage of his position for his dodgy dealings with gypsy clans, and ends up involving Ana Mari and her schizophrenic brother, Floren; this gradually leads to an intimate relationship between them. With young maid Pilar, they will serve at the endless parties Gardner and her circle enjoy in the Dolce Vita reserved for the Madrid elite.
These parties create growing tensions with her downstairs neighbors: General y Senora Perón, recently exiled from Argentina.