The telenovela is written by Thereza Falcão and Alessandro Marson, with the collaboration of Duba Elia, Júlio Fischer, Lalo Homrich, Mônica Sanches and Wendell Bendelack.

[1] It stars Selton Mello, Mariana Ximenes, Gabriela Medvedovski, Michel Gomes, Alexandre Nero, Heslaine Vieira, Daphne Bozaski and Letícia Sabatella in the main roles.

In 1856, the emperor Dom Pedro II (Selton Mello) lives a marriage of appearances with Teresa Cristina (Letícia Sabatella), with whom he was forced to marry at a young age by their parents' political alliance, having with her two daughters: Isabel (Giulia Gayoso) and Leopoldina (Bruna Griphao).

Dom Pedro is in love with Countess Luísa (Mariana Ximenes), an educated woman, who fights for the abolitionist cause and for the rights of women, married to Eugênio (Thierry Tremouroux), the emperor's cousin.

The coffee growers Lota (Paula Cohen) and Batista (Luís Melo) dream of moving up in life and to achieve this they use their sons: the ambitious Nélio (João Pedro Zappa), who is Tonico's henchman and gets advantages from it, and the sweet Bernardo (Gabriel Fuentes), whose parents want to force to seduce Isabel or Leopoldina to enter royalty, although he loves Lupita (Roberta Rodrigues), without imagining that she is his father's lover.

[34] The city scenery was designed by scenographers Paula Salles and Paulo Renato and built in an area of 8,200 square meters, reproducing places in Rio de Janeiro such as Valongo Wharf, Rua do Ouvidor, Passeio Público and the old neighborhood of Pequena África, beyond the interior of the palace and houses.

[38][39] Emilio Dantas was the first name confirmed as the protagonist Dom Pedro II, but he was replaced by Selton Mello, who accepted the invitation to join the plot, as the network tried to convince him to return to telenovelas after two decades ago.