God decides to take a vacation - but, first, He has to find a saint who can rule the universe while He's away. For that, He goes to Brazil's northeast, where He believes there's a very good man for the job - but, during His mission, He becomes friend of a very smart young man, Taoca.

The story of five generations of the Austrian-Brazilian Knieps family, from the inauguration of their family-owned Great Mystical Circus in the 1910s up to the early 21st century, following both the family and the circus from their prime through to their decadence.