Winner of a Theater talent contest, in which he was the only one to enroll, Belizário da Silva leaves his hometown, and tries to make it in Rio de Janeiro.
The adventures of a peaceful and infatuated man, who tries to identify the man who killed his sweetheart, an unconventional young woman who used to receive "guests" at home, calling them her cousins.
Januário is a con man who, with the help of his equally con-artist friends, stays at the luxurious Hotel Palácio, posing as a rich cocoa farmer in order to rob and deceive tourists. Ananásia is a widow who also becomes a guest at the same hotel, with almost the same plan: to pretend to be a millionaire in order to marry some wealthy "old man". Januário and Ananásia immediately begin dating. However, their lies about their wealth make them targets of international jewel thieves who were among the guests.
During the inauguration of Brasília, Brazil's brand new capital city, singer and ballerina Gilda hides in a working-class night club to escape from an inconvenient millionaire who's trying to date her.
The film narrates the adventures of the trickster Juca Moleza in the carnival while he has to deal with the consequences of the scams he applied to people of high society.
Petrônio drives a bus and his friend Cabeleira is a ticket collector. When Petrônio's sister needs money to do a surgery they get involved with a film production company, where a psychopath is trying to be the protagonist of the movie.
Two authors go look for a business to finance their dream musical.