Tieta is a country girl returning to her native village after an absence of 26 years. At 17, her elder sister Perpetua denounced Tieta's sexual indiscretions and she was thrown out of the house. Tieta returns triumphantly as the rich and powerful widow of a Sao Paolo industrialist. Tieta arrives accompanied by Leonora, a beautiful but sad girl whom she introduces as her stepdaughter. Tieta and Leonora's presence inspires an upheaval in the life of Sant'Ana. Ascanio, the Town Hall's secretary tries to persuade Tieta to help bring electricity to the village. Leonora and Ascanio become involved in a platonic romance while Tieta embarks on a torrid relationship with Ricardo, her nephew from the seminary. Tieta soon becomes the village's major benefactor but the peace and quiet is shaken by the arrival of representatives from Embratanio S.A. who intend to construct a highly polluting titanium dioxide plant in Sant'Ana. In the midst of all the uproar, the darkest secret of Tieta's life is revealed and she is forced to leave the village once again.
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