Aurélia Camargo, the daughter of a poor seamstress and fatherless, after losing her brother, fell in love with Fernando Seixas—an ambitious man—with whom she flirted. He, however, broke off the relationship, driven by his desire to marry a rich young woman, Adelaide Amaral, and by the dowry he was entitled to receive.
Some time later, Aurélia, now also motherless, receives a large inheritance from her grandfather and rises socially. She thus becomes a prominent figure in the society events of the time.
Torn between love and wounded pride, she tasks her guardian and uncle, Lemos, with negotiating her marriage to Fernando for a dowry of one hundred thousand réis. The agreement includes, as one of its clauses, that the contracted party not know the bride's identity until the eve of the wedding.
Upon discovering that his bride is Aurélia, Fernando is overjoyed, for, in truth, he has never stopped loving her. The young woman, however, on her wedding night, makes it clear: she "bought him" to play the role of husband that a woman in her social position should have.
