A man, Ivo Moura, on his horse, crosses desertic Alentejo lands, carrying the wages for the workers of the farm that he manages. Suddenly, a storm steals his horse and he has to walk to a decadent hillock that belongs to a bitter man, Zorro, and to his blind wife. Ivo Moura asks for shelter and he witnesses the conflict of interests between the woman and his son José António, on one hand, and her husband, on the other hand. By meeting this family, he becomes an instrument for strategies that he cannot understand.