Fortune takes four human beings to the last frontier of passion. There, where love becomes almost inhuman and divine. As if he was a comet, Rafael, the traveler, appears at the party for the cities patron saint, in a small town in the interior of Minas Gerais. He is the one who brings passion and crime, vanishing afterwards, leaving a poetic feeling in the air, which is always deadly to the ones who stay. Mrs. Ana de Lara, the proud rich widow, and Missy, still a child, whose beauty and innocence are like the Tiê-Sangue, a red bird, are the travelers victims. There is also Master Juca do Vale, a criminal, whose passion turns him incredibly human, in this story of love, death, forgiveness and resurrection.
In this comedy adaptation of Machado De Assis (1839-1908) novel, a young widow writes letters to a friend telling about her days as a married woman and the special relationship she had with Emílio, a friend of the couple who becomes her adoring lover.
When a dying man receives a kiss from a bereaved man who tries to save him, the man is jailed as a homosexual. He is released from jail, but his life has been ruined by the incident -- and the man eventually is killed by his own father-in-law. The kiss that resulted in the eventual persecution and death of the man is never shown in this plodding, downbeat drama.
On the day of his wedding, young man from a family of immigrants faces some problems to get the money needed for the last arrangements. The family do what they can in order to honour the great event, selling personal belongings and buying enough supplies for a decent party.