In a small Portuguese village in the late 1960s, a young priest sides with the population in their struggle for better living and working conditions. Following complaints from the industrialist who employs most of the village's population, the bishop decides to transfer the priest to another parish. When the people learn of his forced departure, they revolt and unite to prevent the priest from leaving the village.

On one side, a bunch of crooks. On the other, two sisters. Nothing unites them except an idea: to relieve the bank account of an old man, who happens to be the sisters' father. The crooks devise a plan to gain his trust and swindle him. The sisters make plans for the last years of their father's life without neglecting the small detail of the inheritance. Each one in their own way, they all dream of the possibilities that the old man's money could bring them. But this one will not be easy prey.

A boy lives with his mother and younger sister. One day, his mother disappears with her lover, leaving the two children alone. António, the older brother, takes care of his sister, Maria da Luz. The little girl is about 10 months old. When she starts walking, their mother reappears with her lover, takes the girl, and leaves the boy behind. António is devastated, as he had been living for several months with a single goal: to protect his sister.

A young woman, holding an important secret and refusing to bow to oppression, exposes the individual dynamics and relationships established in her family that has lived in isolation on a deserted beach for ten years.