Maria Isabel is a poor, generous and honest Indian woman. She lives with her father and his second wife, who hates and mistreats her. Her best friend is Graziela, the daughter of Félix Pereira, a rich, cruel and insensitive man. To put an end to this friendship, Félix sends Graziela to study in the capital. Years later, Graziela returns to the village and meets Maria Isabel again. Graziela falls in love with Leonardo, one of the engineers who works on a construction site on the outskirts of the village, but her father is against this relationship because he wants her to marry the son of a friend of his. To get the engineer out of his daughter's way, Félix plans an accident on the construction site, and the engineer ends up dying. A short time later, Graziela discovers that she is pregnant.