Candinho was separated from his mother immediately after birth and was raised by the couple Cunegundes and Quinzinho, owners of a farm in the interior of São Paulo in the 1920s. But when he grows up, Candinho he is turned into their employee in this House and later expelled by falling in love to their firstborn, Filomena. Pancrácio, friend of the family and a mentor to Candinho, advises him to travel to the city in search for his biological mother, Anastáncia, that he had never met. Thus, Candinho travels with his inseparable donkey, Policarpo. On the other hand, Candinho's mother is millionaire widow who is also looking for his son (Candinho) in the capital. She counts on the help of detective Jack and her best friend Emma and Araújo, an attorney. But Anastáncia has no idea that her niece, Sandra, is doing everything possible to prevent her from finding Candinho. By doing so, she maintains favour of being the sole heiress. On Anastáncia's eyes, Sandra is an exemplary, cultured, sweet and generous but in reality, she is unscrupulous, greedy and selfish. Candinho faces the most diverse situations to survive in the city. In addition to the incessant search of his mother, he is determined to fight for the love of Filomena that now lives in the city and is in relationship with the possessive, Ernesto. Ernesto, who always knew Filó convinces her to run away to the city, promising him the world but to Filó's surprise, her life turns upside-down. To make it worse, Ernesto stays with the money, hence Filomena starts working as a dancer and meets the mysterious Paulina and tormented by an overly ambitious dancer Diana.