The righteous Raquel Accioli is the opposite of her daughter Maria de Fátima, an unscrupulous young woman who sells the family's only property and flees with the money to Rio de Janeiro. Raquel goes after her daughter and starts selling sandwiches on the beach. While her mother struggles to survive, Maria de Fátima allies herself with César, a bad character who encourages her to seduce millionaire Afonso Roitman.