Maria is a young woman who becomes a well-known crook in the bohemian district of Lapa, in Rio de Janeiro. She earns her living with little scams and tricks. Nevertheless, she is good-hearted, and that's why her latest cheat doesn't work at all.
A precious necklace is stolen during a convention at Quitandinha Palace, a hotel in which a wives conference is deciding whether or not unfaithful husbands should receive the death penalty.