In the backlands, the drover Ricardo marks the destiny of young Maria. Years later, in Xique-Xique, a mistake between two identical women rekindles passions, separations, and an impossible love.
In love since childhood, Flô and Arnaldo join forces in the fight for the abolition of slavery. They will have to face challenges and prejudices to be able to live their love.
Madalena hopes Pedro will fulfill the promise he made 28 years ago, while political rivalry separates the two families. The arrival of the circus reveals secrets and stirs up the town.
When his father passes away, Estácio (Osmar Prado) and his aunt Úrsula (Ida Gomes) receive his will and are surprised to discover that most of the inheritance was left to Helena (Lúcia Alves), a previously unknown daughter. In the will, her father asks that his daughter be taken in by her relatives. The news infuriates Úrsula, who has been in charge of the family business and caring for Estácio since his mother passed away, and does not accept Helena willingly, seeing her as an intruder in the family. In addition to Úrsula, someone who is not pleased with the girl's arrival is Dr. Camargo (Rogério Fróes), father of Eugênia (Ângela Valério), Estácio's fiancée. Even so, Estácio obeys his father's request and takes the girl to live with his family. Helena has a cheerful and outgoing temperament and her arrival affects everyone's lives. At first, she is hostile to Úrsula, but later wins her sympathy.
The soap opera follows the story of young Aurélia Camargo (Norma Blum), a girl who falls in love with the ambitious young journalist Fernando Seixas (Cláudio Marzo), who also falls in love with her, but rejects her when he receives an invitation to marry Adelaide (Fátima Freire), the daughter of Tavares do Amaral (Felipe Wagner), a wealthy banker. Feeling abandoned by her great love, Aurélia dreams of one day having him back. Until, when she turns 18, she is surprised with an inheritance from her grandfather, and becomes a very rich woman, allowing her to create her own rules for her life. However, for the society of the time, it was not good form for a woman to enjoy such independence. For this reason, Aurélia begins to rely on a distant relative, Dona Firmina Mascarenhas (Zilka Sallaberry), to act as her mother, and on the administrator Mr. Lemos (Alberto Perez), to guide her in business. So, she sees a great opportunity to have Fernando in her life again.
The cheerful and outgoing Jordana lived alongside Silas for 20 years, helping him become wealthy. Despite this, he abandons her to run away with the opportunistic Carla. After the separation, Jordana faces financial difficulties. She then meets Dona Mena, an eccentric and lonely old woman abandoned by her family. Jordana takes care of Dona Mena and, when she dies, inherits four bronze cupids containing a million dollars. The problem is that the cupids disappear without a trace. The cupids become the subject of a fight between Dona Mena's nephews, Loreta and Carlito. The two are the villains of the story. Jordana, however, ends up falling in love with Carlito. In the final chapters, Jordana manages to recover the cupids and rebuild her life. She has the help of her friend Vieira.