Lurdes is a mother of five who tirelessly seeks for Domenico, a child of hers who was sold by his own father 26 years ago; Thelma is an overprotective mother who finds out she has a terminal illness, and must race against time to make her dreams come true and prepare her son for a life without her presence; Vitória is a successful lawyer who sees the end of her marriage after countless failed attempts to have a baby and decides for adoption, but finds out she is pregnant during the process. In "A Mother's Love", the lives of these women are intertwined while they recognize themselves in the unconditional love provided by motherhood.
The quiet life of the small town Piedade's inhabitants is shaken up by the arrival of a big oil company, which barges in taking over houses and local businesses, throwing everyone out, to better reach and use the area's natural resources.
No measure of hellfire preaching can quell the boisterous and bawdy passions of Maracatu, an Afro-Brazilian burlesque carnival tradition with roots in slavery that takes place in the northeast state of Pernambuco. As the Falstaffian character Tiao, Valmir do Coco leads a nonprofessional cast of authentic Maracatu practitioners in a tale told through dance, music, and the supernatural, set in the sugarcane fields outside Recife.
In an isolated fishing village, Esmerina is married to a fisherman and has 26 children. The oldest son secretly desires to leave to see the world beyond the sea. The daily routine of this family is suddenly altered when a mysterious boat runs aground on the beach entering Ana, a girl who survived the shipwreck.