Just 12 hours after having his daughter in the custody of a kidnapper, the influential communicator Sílvio Santos faces an even more complicated obstacle: his home is invaded and he is held hostage for seven hours. Realizing that his life is at risk, he seeks refuge in the distant thoughts of his entire trajectory, which began when he was just a 14 year old teenager working as a street vendor.

Helen lives in a cortiço with her grandmother, Mrs. Graça, who supports the family with informal jobs, such as selling skewers. Still very naive, her biggest concern is buying her grandmother a birthday present: a makeup kit. The girl is going to bend over backwards to get the money and her search will reveal the daily life of those living in tenements, outlining a collective story from the network of relations that the girl establishes.

In the 1940s, a scientist invents something revolutionary. However, the suffering caused by your past can end up subverting the purpose of your creation.