Maria de Noronha, at 13 years old, suffers from high fevers and violent hemoptysis caused by a ruthless tuberculosis. To alleviate the pain, she gathers poppies from her garden and, at night, places them on her bed pillows. But the poppies have a devastating effect. Her deep sleep is invaded by ghosts and hallucinations: the luxury and decadence of the Portuguese 16th century. A broken nation, occupied by strangers.

In 1974, the Portuguese and their descendants fled Angola where nationalist groups gradually claimed their territory back. A tribal girl discovers love and death when her path crosses that of a Portuguese soldier. Then, a Portuguese squad is barracked inside a wall from which they will have to escape once the past comes out of the grave to claim its long-awaited justice.

In 1974, the Portuguese and their descendants fled Angola where nationalist groups gradually claimed their territory back. A tribal girl discovers love and death when her path crosses that of a Portuguese soldier. Then, a Portuguese squad is barracked inside a wall from which they will have to escape once the past comes out of the grave to claim its long-awaited justice.

After the Portuguese government demolishes his slum and relocates him to a housing project on the outskirts of Lisbon, 75-year-old Cape Verde immigrant Ventura wanders between his new and old homes, reconnecting with people from his past.