Subtle and insightful, this multi-layered social saga revolves around Clara (Sônia Braga), a retired music writer who lives at the Aquarius apartment building in Recife.
Despite tremendous pressure, she refuses to accept a buy-out from developers who wish to reclaim her apartment in order to replace the old building with a large edifice. Even though every one has moved out she holds on to it for sentimental reasons.
The developers, especially the proprietor's grandson and American educated designer Diego (Humberto Carrão), try to disturb Clara through renting the vacant apartments near hers for orgies, parties and vandals. Clara, to stop this harassment, digs up dirt on the developers through her contacts. In an open argument, she berates Diego that education without decency amounts to nothing.
In a vindictive act of revenge, Diego installs termite nests inside empty apartments to evict Clara legally. When Clara recognises the levels to which the developers would be willing to stoop, she decides to stand up against them. She challenges their actions and threatens to fight them against all odds. She is a cancer survivor and has nothing to lose. Will her grit and determination pay off? What will the future hold in store for her?