God decides to take a vacation, but first He has to find a saint who can rule the universe while He's away. So He goes to the Northeast of Brazil, where He believes there's a very good man for the job. As soon as He comes down to Earth, a young man comes along to help on His quest.

The story of five generations of the Austrian-Brazilian Knieps family, from the inauguration of their family-owned Great Mystical Circus in the 1910s up to the early 21st century, following both the family and the circus from their prime through to their decadence.