In 1972, Maria Isabel Barreno, Maria Teresa Horta and Maria Velho da Costa published the book As Novas Cartas Portuguesas [New Portuguese Letters], addressing topics forbidden and censored during the Estado Novo regime such as the colonial war, adultery, rape and abortion. The book was immediately banned and the writers were prosecuted for crimes against morality. The legal proceedings caused waves of protest around the world, giving rise to an international network of solidarity. In the film, the “three Marias” tell their story, before and after one the first major feminist struggles in Portugal.

A middle-aged man builds a summer house in Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro. Married to a beautiful woman, father of two and with a successful career, the house is a symbol of his personal achievements. But as the wind, the salt and the sand threaten to invade the breaches of the house, their marriage begins to crumble. And, like a bad omen, a mysterious murder takes place in the vicinity.