Based on Erico Verissimo's masterpiece, O Sobrado follows the Terra-Cambará family during the siege imposed to their house by enemies due to political differences. As the siege goes, the family tensions start to show off.

Four deserters from Paraguay War hide in an old drunkard's country seat. The latter has two daughters who are unhappy with their recluse lives.

Ms. Violante Miranda is a bordello owner who raises a small girl as her own granddaughter. When she gets a little older, she is sent to study in Europe, and when she returns, she becomes a socialite, rejecting her previous milieu and her "grandmother".