Ricardo is 10 years old, lives in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul and has nightmares about Velho do Saco, sort of a Brazilian bogeyman, “who takes out the eyes of misbehaving children”. It is not easy to distinguish truths and lies when the loss of innocence is confused with the loss of sight.

Ilza needs to find a man, and the only clue she has is that he wears a flowery tie.