The film takes us back to 1975, when the winds of change were blowing over post-revolutionary Portugal. Al Berto returns to his small village, Sines, after several years in Brussels, where he was trained as a painter. Now, he is a wannabe poet who will soon bewitch some of Sines’ youngsters, just as he will incur the wrath of the most conservative locals. Settling illegally in a mansion that had been expropriated from his family during the revolution, young Al Berto begins to hang out with locals who share his interest in the arts and dream of a different life. Among them is João Maria, who will soon become Al Berto’s lover. He was, in real life, the director’s older half-brother. Together, Al Berto and João Maria will go on to provide Sines with its well-deserved trendy scene, its movida, which included the opening of a bookshop downtown, and some extravagant parties at the old mansion.