Financial problems in a religious school for girls force the government to interfere. While waiting in the conference hall to communicate the fact to the school administrators, the intervenor falls asleep and a crazy dream begins, involving teachers, students and strange characters.

After 20 years of exile in Paris, Gustavo returns to his native city São Paulo. Back home, he encounters a place which no longer exists. His old friends and family members have changed, almost beyond recognition. He tries to recapture the past, and make some sense of his life, that of his friends and family, and the present state of his native country.

In an empty city, scorched by the sun, the young and old confuse the fever of sunstroke with the delicate birth of passion. Like ghosts, they hover around buildings and endless flatlands in search of the ever elusive love. Inspired by 19th century Russian short stories, the plots weave and unravel together in the improbable city of Brasilia – a distorted mirror-image of the Soviet utopia – located in the heart of the Brazilian desert.

The story of one of the most important Brazilian heroes, Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, known as Tiradentes. He was the leader of a group who tried to proclaim Brazil's Independence from Portugal in 1789. But he was betrayed by one of his comrades and hanged.

Somwhere in the city of Porto Alegre, a man who has lost his memory is questioned by a group of police officers about the barbaric murder of a socialite. Without recognizing himself in the documents he carries in his pocket, he wanders through the underworlds of the city in search of an answer.

A circus clown's life spirals out of control when his wife, a trapeze artist, dies during a performance, and, to his chagrin, their son vows to follow in his mother's footsteps.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1950. In the conservative home of the Gusmão family, Eurídice and Guida are two inseparable sisters who support each other. While Guida can share with her younger sister the details of her romantic adventures, Eurídice finds in her older sister the encouragement she needs to pursue her dream of becoming a professional pianist.