Set in the harsh Brazilian backlands (Sertão), Etevaldo (Aury Porto), a quiet and nomadic farm worker carrying a hidden past, arrives at a small rural village. He meets Maria (Badu Morais), a free-spirited young woman promised in marriage to an influential, older local neighbor. The two fall deeply in love and elope together across the backlands. They find refuge with Valda (Luci Pereira), a deeply religious woman who takes them in. However, when an investigator arrives to probe an alleged kidnapping and missing person case tied to Etevaldo, his true identity and secrets begin to surface, triggering intense local prejudice, betrayal, and violence from the conservative community.