Macabea has just moved to the big city after her aunt, who raised her, died. She gets a job as a typist and moves into a boarding house with three other women. In her spare time she listens to time Radio Station; on Sundays she likes to ride the subways. She describes herself saying, "I am a typist and a virgin, and I like Coca-Cola." Then she meets Olimpico, a north-easterner like herself, who has dreams of becoming a Congressman.