Description

The novel opens on the winding Paquequer river, born in the misty heights of the Serra dos Órgãos and racing through untouched forest toward the mighty Parahyba. The author paints the water as a living serpent, its roar filling the solitude of a landscape dotted with towering palms, wild orchids and towering cliffs. In the year 1604, when Rio de Janeiro is still a fledgling settlement, the riverbanks remain a frontier of raw nature, a stage where man appears only as a brief guest.

At a narrow gorge the narrative finds a solitary stone house perched on a rocky promontory, its walls hewn from the very cliff and protected by a thicket of thorns. From its modest windows a view opens onto the river’s gentle curve, hinting at the lives of the people who have taken refuge there. As the first travelers arrive, alliances of loyalty, love and rivalry begin to take shape, setting the tone for an adventure that will test the characters against both the unforgiving wilderness and the shadows of their own desires.

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