A resident of Vidigal, one of Rio's most famous favelas, Rita is a street vendor who works on the beach and has been saving money for months to give her son Léo a birthday party. Until she discovers that all the money has been stolen by her own husband, Dudu, who has run up a dangerous debt with the locals and needs to pay it off urgently in order to save his life. After this disappointment, Rita has to race against time to find ways of raising the money to save the life of her son's father and finally be able to celebrate Léo's birthday.