One bright spring day in 1925, Gabriela arrives from the poverty-stricken backwoods of Brazil to the lively seaside port of Ilhéus amid a flock of filthy migrant workers. Though wearing rags and covered in dirt, she attracts the attention of Nacib, a cafe owner, who is in desperate need of a new cook. So dire is his situation that he hires the dishevelled girl. The savvy young woman quickly proves to be an excellent chef and once well-scrubbed and decently dressed, an eye-catching beauty. Nacib quickly finds himself the owner of the most prosperous business in town and the employer of its most sought-after woman. Lusty, satirical and full of intrigue, Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon is a vastly entertaining panorama of small town Brazilian life.