Adaptation of Mia Couto's novel "A River Called Time, A House Called Earth." When the gravedigger's shovel tried to dig into the ground to cover Dito Mariano's grave, it hit a surface as hard as steel. A storm broke out in the sky and a sense of awe swept over the family members present at the funeral. Whose fault was it that the earth would not open? Discord broke out among the women. Dulcineusa, the matriarch of the family, declared: "The earth will not open because there is a secret to be revealed."

Cristina is twenty years old. Her father was declared missing in action during the war in Angola many years before. One day in church the girl meets a man about fifty years old who tries various times, unsuccessfully, to make the sign of the cross. The man is called Cristovão. A few days later the two meet again. The man offers to help her look for her father. A relationship based on memories and confessions is formed between them. But soon they each return to their own solitude.