In 1925, Gabriela, a poor, uneducated, yet charming woman becomes cook, mistress, and then wife of Nacib, a bar owner in Ilhéus, a small Brazilian coastal town run by the local colonels.
Polidoro is a naive farmer. Convinced by his daughter and son-in-law, he sells his farm to Agenor, a swindler and friend of his son-in-law. Through a trap, Polidoro travels to Bariloche while his farm is sold illicitly to third parties.