Lisbon, late 1940s. The inhabitants of a faded apartment building are struggling to make ends meet: Silvestre the cobbler and his wife take in a disaffected young lodger; Dona Ldia, who used to work the streets, is now kept by a businessman with a roving eye. The cultivated family of Dona Cndida, come down in the world, keep to themselves with their books and music. Emilio the humble salesman has a Spanish wife who's in a permanent rage; Claudinha the beautiful young typist has a boss who lusts for her; Justina and her womanizer husband live at war with each other.

Happy marriages, abusive relationships, jealousy, gossip, love - Skylight is a portrait of ordinary people painted by the master of the quotidian, a great observer of the immense beauty and profound hardship of the modern world.