Young executive woman returns to small town of Dois Córregos and remembers the time, in the late 1960s, when she met her uncle there, a man who was running away from the military dictatorship ruling Brazil at the time.
Maria is an orphan girl who suffers from her stepmother's wickedness. She then decides to escape in search of the fringes of the sea and takes a long walk through Brazilian folk tales. On her journey, she meets several fantastic characters.