Portugal, 1917: 17-year-old Zacarias dreams of adventure and of achieving fame and recognition in the First World War. He volunteers for the army with great expectations, but instead of fighting against the Germans in France, he is sent to Mozambique. The harsh reality of the Portuguese colony becomes apparent as soon as he arrives: the soldiers allow themselves to be carried to shore by the locals and treat them like second-class citizens. When his unit leaves him behind one day, Zacarias thinks of nothing else but catching up with them again to finally prove himself at the front. At a remote Portuguese outpost, he is assigned two African helpers, Duarte and Nhanguete, who are to accompany him on his journey - one carries his luggage, the other serves as a guide. But the young soldier, who is increasingly suffering from the hardships of the mission, treats them with notorious disdain. After a brutal incident, they part ways and Zacarias is faced with an almost insurmountable challenge: with no direction, he has to fight his way alone through the merciless jungle, where hunger, illness and despair drive him to the brink of madness. At the end of his tether, he meets members of an indigenous tribe - but how will they react to the stranger?
—Arte