Gracinda, a young laundry washer, lives with her godfather, "Uncle" Jacinto, and together they run a family business, doing the laundry for residents of Lisbon in their small village in the outskirts of that city (Canecas). Unfortunately, the business is not going very well, but that changes when Gracinda decides to go to the city to try to convince Chico, "Uncle" Jacinto's son, with whom she is in love, to return to the village and give new life to the business. The village is preparing for the annual festivities and a dispute erupts between "Uncle" Jacinto and his business rival , the widow Quiteria, when each of them invites different bands to play at the same time during the party and dances
After completing his military service in the Angolan War of Independence, Adelino goes back to the Portuguese fishing village he calls home, only to find that the woman he loves has married his brother. Overcome by bitterness, he sets off to find work in the countryside where he meets Albertina, a free-spirited young woman who challenges him to change his life.
Jorge, a successful engineer and employee of a ministry and Luísa, a romantic and dreamy girl, star as the typical bourgeois couple of the Lisbon society of the 19th century.
Melancholic and atheist bank clerk Manuel is stuck in a love triangle with two women, the fiery art model Albertina and the quiet and religious Ana Maria. After spending several years working in Africa, Manuel returns to Portugal only to find both women already married, and his life marred by problems.
The amorous sacrifices of the daughter of Tomé da Póvoa, Berta, with the gentleman Jorge and, in parallel, the warm connection of the other son of Dom Luis, Maurício, with dedicated cousin Gabriela.
Hector, the dog of an officer of the merchant navy, wanders during a stopover in Lisbon. Captured by smugglers, he is soon used as a mule in a case of diamond smuggling. But this is not counting on his innate sense of justice and law...
