Ayu, a girl from a village outside Yogyakarta, wants to become a famous dangdut singer. So in Yogya, Ayu stays with Ningsih, her aunt, who owns a beauty salon. Dimas, her friend, accompanies Ayu, as a street musician, to get musical exposure. Ayu starts to get noticed when she sings. Men are mesmerised, especially by her moves and voice. They throw money at her every time she performs for gratuity, thus she earns the nickname, cewek saweran or gratuity girl.
Khalifah works in a beauty parlor. She marries Rasyid to obey her father and support the family. She becomes a devoted wife and wears the veil on Rasyid’s orders. She soon learns that Rasyid has a strict teaching of Islam, when he later tells Khalifah to wear a full body veil. Khalifah obeys his request, despite her father’s objection. But her neighbors start to perceive her as a terrorist’s wife. Meanwhile, Khalifah’s young neighbor, Yoga, has a secret crush on her. Yoga is the one who sews Khalifah’s veil. One day, Rasyid’s secret life is unraveled and he betrays Khalifah.
Dedi (Dede Yusuf), who married Menul (Ayu Azhari), when they were very young, tries to make a living as a clown at an amusement park. This job does not pay enough for him to make ends meet, so he and a number of his friends try to find a way out of the poverty they are trapped in. The opportunity comes when they find a the wallet of a wealthy man, who is impressed when they return it to him, and provides them with the capital to open a food stall, which they use as a stepping stone toward opening a restaurant. Through this story, the director, Chairul Raya, attempts to depict the way of life of the poor, while using the subplot of the love story between the clown and his wife to display his disdain for the mainstream tendencies in the Indonesian film industry. This film is at once moving and humorous.
Mulyono returns to his village, Tembarak, after serving time in Nusakambangan prison. His village is in the midst of a village headman election. There are two strong candidates with opposite attitude. One believes that any means is justifiable while the other one follows the straight road. Mulyono finds his wife murdered. She was previously suffering from a mental illness. His daughter is missing and his son is now a criminal. Mulyono then becomes the scapegoat in the village riot during the election. Eventually he clears his name. Then he meets his daughter who is ready to marry the future village head while he captures his son who is willing to be imprisoned.