Brazil, 1821. Slave-owner Antonio returns to his estate only to find out that both his wife and child have died. He soon marries twelve-year-old Beatriz and leaves again. The loneliness of the huge manor in the harsh landscape, slaves uprooted from their homes, and the lady of the house still half child are an overture to an inevitable tragedy. This visual epic shows the roots of violence and prejudices still apparent in present-day Brazil.