Beautiful and exuberant, Donatela was orphaned as a child and raised by Flora’s father as his own daughter. In the past, she and Flora partnered as Country Western duo “Faísca and Espoleta.” But their love for the same man, the rich Marcelo Fontini, eventually turned them into mortal enemies. Fontini ended up choosing Donatela. Fast-forward to the present and Donatela, besides vying with Flora for the love of Zé Bob, also fights for the love of Lara, whom she raised as a daughter after Flora was convicted of murdering Fontini. Donatela is The Favorite’s protagonist. Donatela will fight vigorously to prove her innocence after Flora accuses her of a murder she never committed. Donatela has always insisted that Flora murdered her husband, despite her former friend’s denial.

A cold, calculating murderer, Flora pretends to be the victim of an injustice by insisting that Donatela is the one who murdered Marcelo. In fact, Flora is the one who murdered him, her lover, when he figured out that Lara was not his daughter but Dodi’s, Flora’s partner in crime. After 18 years in jail, Flora is released, fully bent on revenge and on displacing Donatela for Lara’s affections. Flora deeply resents Donatela, who outdoes her in everything. Soon after her release, Flora gets involved with Zé Bob, who later falls in love with Donatela. Once again, Flora loses a man to her greatest rival. She’ll fight for Lara’s love, the daughter so dotingly raised by Donatela, with the sole objective to snatch Lara’s inheritance left to her by Marcelo.

A pretty, rich, and lovely young lady, Lara was raised by Donatela as her own daughter, even though she was born to Flora and Marcelo, Donatela’s deceased husband. When Flora is released from jail, she tries to earn Lara’s affection. However, Lara has deep suspicions toward Flora, whom she’s convinced has falsely accused Donatela of being Marcelo’s murderer. For a while, Lara dated Cassiano, a sensitive musician who loves her, but eventually she gets romantically involved with Halley. It turns out that Lara is the daughter of Flora and Dodi, not Marcelo, and therefore is not the sole heir to the Fontini’s fortune.

Donatela’s husband, Dodi, is a philanderer and a misfit. He works at the Fontini’s company and steals from his employers. After being exposed as a thief, Donatela kicks him out of their house. A consummate scoundrel, Dodi is Flora’s accomplice in her revenge against Donatela. He is Lara’s biological father, but does not know.

Zé Bob is honest, educated and idealistic, and believes that he can change the world through journalism. His love life, however, is quite complicated. Despite being a habitual womanizer, Zé Bob feels deeply lonely. He gets romantically involved with both Donatela and Flora, but he is really in love with Donatela. Zé Bob will investigate the mystery surrounding Flora until he discovers the truth.

Halley is a wily, slick young man who’s always conning people in order to succeed in life. Deep inside, though, he is a good and friendly person. While working as Lara’s bodyguard, the two fall in love. Fate, however, has more things in store for them than just love: he is Donatela and Marcelo’s legitimate son, kidnapped as a baby, and thus the genuine heir of the great Fontini’s fortune. He will live a grand love story with Lara.