The soap opera critiques the power struggles among rural politicians in the 1920s. Joaquim is shocked when a doctor reveals that his son, Luís Jerônimo, has a lung lesion. To recover his health, the young man leaves Rio de Janeiro for Colonel Boanerges's farm in Vila da Mata, Espírito Santo. There, he meets Zuca, and the two fall in love. Zuca is the colonel's goddaughter and the fiancée of the fearless cowboy Tobias, who refuses to accept the possibility of losing her to the outsider. Zuca and Luís Jerônimo face numerous obstacles in pursuing their love. Their romance is also threatened by the arrival of Pepa in Vila da Mata; having been in love with Luís Jerônimo back when he lived in Rio, she tries by every means possible to drive the couple apart.
