Monarchists and republicans meet in Araruna, a small fictional town in the interior of São Paulo, in 1886. The novel portrays the love story of the beautiful and wealthy Sinhá Moça - daughter of the slave, Barão Ferreira de Araruna, and sweet and submissive Mother Candida - , with the young abolitionist lawyer Dr. Rodolfo Fontes - son of Dr. Fontes, and the housewife Inêz. Together, they face the difficulties in the campaign for the abolition of slaves.