Cleonir dos Santos

The biography of the singer Francisco Alves. It narrates his father's opposition to his singing, his adventure in the circus, his love affairs and breakups, his discovery in a bar at dawn and, finally, his success cut short when he died in 1952 in a car accident.

Disagreements between brothers and marital infidelity are just some of the consequences that the discovery of a valuable diamond causes.

Jocasta, an 18-year-old sociology student and daughter of communist activist Túlio Silveira, is actively involved in the country's political landscape. She is in love with Laio—her polar opposite—a disengaged, esoteric young man who lives off his wealthy father's allowance. A mystic, Laio makes no move without consulting his guru and friend Argemiro, whom he turns to upon learning of Jocasta's pregnancy. The cowrie shell reading reveals that his son is destined to kill him and enter into a romantic relationship with his mother. Terrified, Laio disappears with the child immediately after birth, aided by Argemiro—who loves Laio and loathes Jocasta. Twenty-five years later, Jocasta is a successful yet restless woman searching for her missing son. She is estranged from Laio, who has spent recent years expanding his father's fortune through involvement in underground gambling. On a highway, he encounters Oedipus, unaware that the young man is his son.

In the backlands, the drover Ricardo marks the destiny of young Maria. Years later, in Xique-Xique, a mistake between two identical women rekindles passions, separations, and an impossible love.