Marcelo is a twelve-year boy with an apparently vegetative life. Three years ago his mother Anna was killed in an accident and as a consequence the boy became reduced to a condition of semi-paralysis, detachment and silence which the other members of the family accept and are conformed with He lives in an impressive mansion in São Paulo where the story takes place. The boy's father and owner of the house, Marcelo Rondi has a dynamic and downright personality. A middle aged man he is a successful businessman with a considerable fortune and reputation. Little Marcelo is his only son, but he has a daughter from his first marriage, eighteen year old Berenice. During Marcelo and Berenice frequent absences, the house is run by the housekeeper Matilda. The film begins with Matilde interviewing young Anna, a candidate to the position of little Marcelo's nurse and nanny