The story takes place in São Paulo, in the late 1920s, and has Mariano's memories as its starting point. Orphaned, he loses the aunt who raised him and ends up in Madame Iara's brothel, where he meets two people who transform his life: Esmeraldo, a gigolo who loves the good life who becomes his master; and the prostitute Guadalupe, known as Lu, a sweet and extremely sensual woman. Esmeraldo is Lu's boyfriend, whom he loves unconditionally. Mariano enters the couple's lives and ends up falling in love with her, thus forming the love triangle that drives the entire narrative.