Dulce Muniz

In São Paulo, Brazil, the lonely 40-something guitar teacher Baby lives a tedious life in a low middle-class apartment. She is addicted to her only companions: cigarettes. Baby has a constant conflict with her two sisters, over a couch she inherited from their deceased aunt. When Max, a restaurant musician, moves to the next door apartment, Baby has a crush on him and sees a chance to have a life again. Soon they start having a love affair, and Baby decides to quit smoking. However, her abstinence will be tough to deal with, when she notices Max still misses his ex-wife.

After being evicted, a family in serious financial difficulties moves into a tenement next to a cemetery. As soon as they settle in, they meet the neighboring couple who, upon learning of the financial problems of the newcomers, offer them a pact to be made through a magical amulet: the monkey paw.