Tobacco was a key product in the economical empire created by the founder of the General Tobacco Company of the Philippines, the first Marquis of Comillas. An enterprising grout which would dominate many sectors, the Tobacco Company also played an important role in the palace intrigues in the royal courts of the kings Alfonso XII and Alfonso XIII. In this novel we also learn about the family relationships between such as the Catalan poet and family priest, Jacint Verdaguer, and the famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, who designed many of the Marquis buildings and his his son-in-law, Eugeni Güell's, works.

Tabaco is the story of the rise and fall of the Comillas empire, with a background of religious beliefs, family quarrels and passionate love affairs, at the time of the independence of the Philippines and, eventually, the loss of the last Spanish colonies.