Against a backdrop of rural Portuguese poverty, a handful of magical characters are living out their destiny: Jose, a shepherd, who is visited by a devil whispering violent words in his ear; Moises and Elias, Siamese twins joined at the tip of their little fingers; Gabriel, a wise man, who is over one hundred years old; and an unnamed character who sits writing alone in a windowless room. The characters are universal, and they are all at the mercy of fate — their lives are pulled in different directions and sometimes even suffocated and snuffed out.