

In 1970, during a glittering New Year's Eve party attended by the aristocracy, a young pantry maid named Zaíra is mysteriously murdered. Thirteen years later, the prime suspect—Gastão, a humble waiter and former colleague of the victim—seeks to prove his innocence with the help of his son, Nil, becoming entangled in the lives of the other party guests. The story also follows a cunning pair of jewel thieves: the sophisticated Antônia Regina and João Maria—a criminal lawyer and member of the declining aristocracy who takes up the cause of Nil's father.

Vladimir, Count Dracula, leaves Transylvania and comes to Brazil to reunite with his son Rafael. Because of the turmoil in Europe during World War I, Rafael, still a boy, was entrusted to his nanny, Ana, who fled with him. Having discovered his son's whereabouts, Vladimir is determined to rescue him and make him claim his inheritance. Of seemingly humble origins, Rafael has secretly courted Mariana, granddaughter of the powerful Dona Marta, matriarch of the Matos Lacerda family, who dominate the city, since childhood. Rafael is unaware of his father's existence. In his struggle to win his son, Vladimir faces opposition from Ana, who knows all his weaknesses. Upon arriving in Brazil, in addition to his son, Vladimir finds the woman of his dreams, exactly like the one he loved and lost in the past – none other than Mariana, Rafael's beloved. Vladimir believes Mariana is the reincarnation of the great love of his past.


The telenovela tells the story of Pedro, a young singer seeking recognition and success. The son of Celso and Anita leaves his parents' home when he discovers that his brother Claudio has become involved with his girlfriend Selma. The singer then goes to live in a student community, where he meets the siblings Bruno, a composer, and Nina. Pedro and Bruno begin a professional partnership. Nina ends up falling in love with the singer, but is torn between him and the former seminarian Chico.



Unhappy in her marriage, Rachel decides to separate from her husband, the businessman Virgílio. Determined to turn her life around, she moves from Petrópolis to the southern zone of Rio de Janeiro with her daughter, Clara, and goes to live in her mother Laura's house in Ipanema. There she falls in love with the charming, but gruff, Heitor, owner of a mechanic shop. He lives with his sister, Irene, in an old townhouse, one of the main settings of the telenovela.


Sisters Cotinha, Das Graças, Rosário, and Dorzinha work as domestic servants in Rio de Janeiro and face difficulties in their struggle for a better life.




