Portuguese master Manoel de Oliveira offers a foreboding fable of familial unrest. Gebo lives a quiet life in a European port city with his wife, Doroteia and his daughter-in-law, Sofia. But the family is haunted by the absence of Joao, Gebo's son and Sofia's husband. Rumors are circulating of robberies and even darker dealings in neighboring ports. Is Joõ responsible? One night, he arrives home and all is brought to light.