O cenário principal e centro da trama é o Edifício Paraíso, construído por uma família aristocrática na cidade de São Paulo, que sofre desvalorização com a construção do Elevado Presidente Costa e Silva, mais conhecido como "Minhocão", que passa à altura de seu segundo andar.
The soap opera follows the lives of residents of a building in São Paulo. There, they live with the chaos and conflicts of a big city and the multitude of people who passed through there. The building, which was previously inhabited by people from higher classes, such as Edgard and Mafalda, now houses people from lower classes after the intervention of work that required modifying the original plan of the building, which now has cheaper apartments on the first floors. The residents, with their personal dramas, are indifferent to each other's problems, until Paulinho, son of ex-nun Marta, a mentally disabled boy who screams in the early hours of the morning, becomes the pivot of a conflict. Residents are divided on whether or not to expel mother and son from the building, with the entire debate forcing everyone to get closer.