In 1970, during a glittering New Year's Eve party attended by the aristocracy, a young pantry maid named Zaíra is mysteriously murdered. Thirteen years later, the prime suspect—Gastão, a humble waiter and former colleague of the victim—seeks to prove his innocence with the help of his son, Nil, becoming entangled in the lives of the other party guests. The story also follows a cunning pair of jewel thieves: the sophisticated Antônia Regina and João Maria—a criminal lawyer and member of the declining aristocracy who takes up the cause of Nil's father.