[4] Jorginho, a successful engineer and employee of a ministry and Laura, a romantic and dreamy girl, star as the typical bourgeois couple of the Lisbon society of the 19th century.

There is a group of friends who attend the home of Jorginho and Laura: Dona Tristeza, a woman suffering from gas crises and who is in love with the Councillor; Sebastião (Sebastian), a close friend of Jorginho; Councillor Acácio, good scholar; Ernestinho; and maids Joana - hussy and flirty - and Juliana - an angry, envious, and spiteful woman, responsible for the conflict of the novel.

At the same time cultivating a formal and happy marriage with Jorginho, Laura still maintains friendship with a former colleague, Leopoldina - called "Bread and Cheese" for her continuous betrayal and adultery.

Laura was a person with a strong romantic view of life as she usually read only novels, and Bazilio was the man of her dreams: he was rich and lived in France.

Jorginho comes back and is not suspicious, as Laura satisfies every whim of the maid while looking for all possible solutions until she finds the disinterested help of Sebastian, who sets a trap for Juliana, trying to get her arrested and ends up causing her death.

Although never rerun, this production contains some of the best dramatic moments delivered by the actors involved, especially the villainous Juliana, played by Marília Pêra.