In September 1810, Napoleonic forces, led by Marshal Masséna, invaded Portugal. During the Battle of Bukaku, Masséna was defeated. However, the Portuguese and British, under the command of General Wellington, retreated. Thus Wellington hoped to lure the enemy to Torres Vedras, where he built impassable lines of fortifications. This strategy, along with Operation Scorched Earth, is pushing the civilian population into mass displacement.
Accompanying the soldiers on their march is an entire people suffering the daily torments of war as they advance through ruined villages, burned forests, and destroyed crops. Some assert their desire to resist the invaders, while others exploit the general chaos to unleash their baser instincts. Then the whirlwind of history accelerates the individual and romantic destinies of several characters such as Lieutenant Pedro de Alencar, the young Englishwoman Clarissa Warren, the traveling merchant Peña Branca, Sergeant Francisco Xavier or the prostitute Martirio. Everyone gathers on the lines of Torres Vedras where the final battle will decide everyone's fate.
