The central theme of the soap opera is the struggle for political control in the interior of Bahia between the two most powerful *coronéis* (landowning bosses) of the cocoa region: Sinhô Badaró and Horácio da Silveira. Virgílio, an ambitious lawyer, is summoned to the town by Colonel Horácio but ends up becoming involved with Ester, the colonel's wife. Captain João Magalhães is a card sharp who poses as a military engineer, successfully deceiving the entire town. He falls in love with Sinhô Badaró's daughter, Donana. By the end of the story, he reveals that he had only gotten close to the Badarós out of opportunism. After numerous clashes with Sinhô Badaró, Colonel Horácio secures political power in the town of Ferradas, with the acknowledgment of the local population.
Cláudio Cavalcanti
Nívea Maria
Paulo Figueiredo
Sura Berditchevsky
Maria Cláudia
Jonas Mello
Carlos Kroeber
Otávio Augusto
Bárbara Bruno
Fernando Torres
José Lewgoy
Bárbara Fazio
Stênio Garcia
Milton Gonçalves
Edwin Luisi
Mário Cardoso
Sebastião Vasconcelos
Ademilton José
Julciléa Telles
Isaac Bardavid
Haroldo de Oliveira
José de Abreu
Heloísa Millet
Fabio Junqueira
Alberto Pérez
Germano Filho
Macedo Neto
Thelma Reston
Felipe Donavan
Angelito Mello
Tereza Mascarenhas
Paulo Gonçalves
Alfredo Murphy
Antônio Pitanga
Fernando José
Edson Silva
Eliana Araújo
Elza Gomes
Ivan Mesquita
Cláudio Savietto
Bernadette Di Paula
Adalberto Silva
Regina Nogueira
Roberto Montini
Nelson Freitas
D'Artagnan Mello
Aray Duarte
Alcebíades Bandeira
Cesar Teixeira
Rogério Blum
Dary Reis