On the eve of his 78th birthday, the ailing, alcoholic writer Clive Langham spends a painful and sleepless night mentally composing and recomposing scenes for a novel in which characters based on his own family are shaped by his fantasies and memories, alongside his caustic commentary on their behaviour.
Fleeing from the orphanage where he was living, young Valdo immediately entered the life of the crime, establishing himself as a dangerous adult criminal. However, his petty thefts do not satisfy him and he longs for bigger things and when he becomes a lover of Beth, the young criminal realizes that he can enrich himself very and very fast.
A writer who specializes in exposing fake witchcraft journeys to Brazil to investigate a voodoo cult.
Four deserters from Paraguay War hide in an old drunkard's country seat. The latter has two daughters who are unhappy with their recluse lives.
A letter summons American detective Steve Marshall to Sao Paulo, Brazil, in search of fugitive murderess Louise Dunning. Marshall contacts Louise and learns that she murdered her husband only in self-defense. In the meantime, Marshall is set up as a pawn in a counterfeiting ring (they were the ones who sent him the letter), and unwittingly helps the police capture the criminals. Louise decides to remain in Brazil.
In 1836 Brazil, a hawker arrives in a small village in the State of Rio Grande do Sul to avenge the death of a friend. He becomes friends with an outgoing knight, but they start loving the same woman. Besides, Farrapos War begins, and they take different positions in the conflict, leading to rivalry.