A new priest comes to a Brazilian coastal town and builds an insane asylum. Eventually the whole population ends up in the asylum.

Based on 19th century story "O Alienista" by great Brazilian writer Machado de Assis, the film is a free adaptation, telling the story of Catholic priest Simão Bacamarte who comes to the small town of Serafim to investigate on the phenomenon of madness and ends up putting most of its inhabitants in an asylum, making things get out of control.—fabreu