Manoela is employed in the home of Donato, an employee at a cosmetics factory, and Carolina. After her boss's death, Carolina finds herself unprepared to deal with the serious financial difficulties and fires Manoela, who agrees to work for free, becoming a kind of guardian angel, advisor, and administrator of the house. To pay the mortgage on the property, she suggests that Carolina rent out two of the vacant rooms. The new tenants are four students who have recently arrived in Rio to take the university entrance exam. During their studies, the young men meet Marcelo, nicknamed Belo, who falls in love with Manoela. The relationship gives her the opportunity, for the first time, to forget about other people's problems and live her own life.