Maria da Graça is a country girl who dreams of becoming a singer. She leaves her town to live with some relatives in Rio de Janeiro, but it doesn't take her long to find out that aunt Zuleika and cousins, Cidinha and Mauricinho, are less than friendly. While trying to deal with her relatives and their abuse, Maria da Graça befriends a neighbour, Duda, who shows her the ropes of getting along in the dangerous city, and Bob, a goofy diner clerk who, it turns out, might be the missing piece in her quest to fulfill her dreams.