The adventurous life of Portugal's epic poet, Luis de Camões.
João, a music teacher, tells his students the story of how twenty years earlier he fell in love with Anustchka, a circus performer, whom he left everything for.
Melancholic and atheist bank clerk Manuel is stuck in a love triangle with two women, the fiery art model Albertina and the quiet and religious Ana Maria. After spending several years working in Africa, Manuel returns to Portugal only to find both women already married, and his life marred by problems.
