Considered a transition from Romanticism to Naturalism, Inocência is a story of love destroyed by intransigence and suspicion. When Inoncência becomes ill, her father, Pereira, seeks the help of Cirino who cures her and falls in love with her. Pereira, who has promised Inocência to Manecão, suspects that a German academic, Meyer, who is staying in their home, wants to take Inocência home with him and has Tico, a mute dwarf spy on his daughter. After Meyer leaves, Inocência refuses to marry Manecão, and Tico reveals that she has met clandestinely with Cirino. Enraged, Pereira kills Cirino, and Inocência dies from a broken heart.