在这部大宅剧情片中,jean出身里约上层社会家庭，但因父亲投资失利，全家面临破产的危机。溺爱他的父母尽量不让他知道家中困境，但他逐渐看见富裕环境之外的生活，也爱上一名在公车上认识的混血女孩luiza.luiza在jean的欧洲移民家庭里有如陪亲，近期在巴西大学里实施的种族保护名额，更令luiza成为话题焦点。影片以精准的角度描述巴西种族偏见与贫富不均等现况
Seventeen year old Caucasian high school senior Jean Cavalcanti, who attends a well regarded private boys' school, lives a relatively carefree life of moderate privilege in a security monitored and locked and gated big, custom built house in an affluent neighborhood in suburban Rio de Janeiro with his parents, Hugo and Sônia, fourteen year old sister Nathalie, and a houseful of servants including live-in maid Rita, black evangelical cook Noemia, and chauffeur Severino. Hugo and Sônia are too preoccupied with maintaining their upper middle class lifestyle to do much direct parenting with the exception of ensuring that Jean and Nat play their proper roles to the outside world, such as making sure that Jean gets into a good post-secondary program, something that Jean places little real effort. Not doing well on the college entrance exams may be a problem as the government has just implemented a quota system to balance the inherent disadvantages faced by non-Caucasians. Because of his parents' general neglect, Jean largely turns to the household staff instead of his parents, Severino, his chauffeur for his daily commute to/from the city to school, who initiates his first sexual experience with a prostitute. Jean is also able to sneak into Rita's room most nights on her teasing invitation to partake in foreplay and frank discussions of sex, although actual sex with him is a place she will not go. When Severino goes on vacation, Jean is forced to take public transit to school, a bus trip where he meets mixed race Luiza, who although not poor is not affluent like Jean's family. Although she is bright, Luiza admits that the quota system will benefit her and the basic inequalities she faces. The two begin to date. These issues in Jean's life are set against a backdrop of an issue of which he is unaware: that the hedge-fund Hugo managed has gone bust and thus he has lost his job. Hugo and Sônia do whatever they need to maintain their public façade of affluence - Severino who is not on vacation but was let go because of the financial issues - which includes living in the house they can no longer afford...
