Chico Pennafiel

In 1894, with a coup d'état, President Floriano Peixoto closed down The National Congress, soon reinstated with co-religionaries in key positions. In the south of Brazil, the Maragatos revolutionaries would not come to terms with this. They rebelled and marched to Rio de Janeiro to join Admiral Saldanha's troops and depose the President in an episode known today as the Federalist Revolution. The rebels fought bloody battles with Floriano soldiers during the march. Idelfonso Corrêa is a quiet, reserved citizen of humble origin who becomes the Baron of Serro Azul. His mature demeanor makes him a choice for mediator between both groups. Midst negotiations and difficulties to safeguard the family and his protegés, the Baron expands his domains, starts a newspaper, a bank, and exports herva-mate. With the battle over, his form of address, Baron, becomes synonymous with traitors.

Western book writer, Eugenio is going through a difficult phase. He is famous for the novels starring the Jesus Kid, but his sales have been going from bad to worse for some time. The light at the end of the tunnel seems to be a film director's invitation: he wants Eugenio to write a film script. However, to write this script, Eugênio must spend three months isolated in a luxury hotel, without being able to go out or have contact with the world he knows. Based on this premise, Mutarelli builds a scathing critique of the publishing market and the film market — where he has been circulating for years. Bringing to Eugênio much of his own personality, the author shows how the commercial part of culture can be perverse to those who work in it.