Two French advertising agencies vying for a contract with a manufacturer of washers. The manager decides to hire the agency submitting the best advertising campaign. Jean Francois, head of the A.P.N., has the great idea of looking for an authentic Portuguese washerwoman to present the ads. But competition, the O.P.I., led by the attractive Catherine, on a trip to Portugal, check the washer ideal. It is a shy girl who is happy with life in Portugal and refuses to accept the proposals of Catherine. And here intervenes Jean François, who pretends to fall for her to take her to Paris ..
Costa is travelling from Africa to London, and wishes very much to his nephew Amadeu, and see by himself how well he has been invested large sums of money he is been sending him. Amadeu 'borrows' for 24 hours a wife, a villa, a car, and a servant - for he has been lies to his uncle all the time. All goes well. But, Costa decides to prolong his stay for two weeks...
Melancholic and atheist bank clerk Manuel is stuck in a love triangle with two women, the fiery art model Albertina and the quiet and religious Ana Maria. After spending several years working in Africa, Manuel returns to Portugal only to find both women already married, and his life marred by problems.
Anastácio lives in Lisbon and is fanatic for Sporting CP, one of the city's football teams. When the team travels to face Porto, he follows it with the family, staying in house of his friend, Mr. Barata, pretending to be rich.
In 1336, Pedro, heir to the Portuguese crown, marries Constanza Manuel de Villena, a Castilian noblewoman, for political reasons; but the impulsive prince ends up giving in to his love for Inés de Castro, his wife's lady-in-waiting.
Caleidoscope of documentary-like scenes and re-enacted episodes of a day in the life of a large port town – Lisbon, from the old district around Saint George's Castle down to the docks and the 'Sagres' on the Tagus river, to the new commercial districts.
In the north of Portugal, country boy António is in love with his neighbour and childhood friend Rosa. However, his love for her is not reciprocated. One day, Rosa falls in love with Fernando, a medical student in Porto and the son of a wealthy farmer.
The French girl Nanette Lubin came to Rio looking for her aunt and ended up finding the son of a baroness, Ricardo de Toneleiros. Not finding her aunt, Nanette became a manicurist for a baroness and later the lover of the lady's nephew. The film ends with the death of Nanette, who had been located by her aunt, but the aunt, upon learning how her niece was living, returned to the farm where she lived.