The book consists of three novellas: *A Fonte*, *Ana Terra*, and *Um Certo Capitão Rodrigo*, interspersed with fragments of another narrative titled “O Sobrado.” Although the stories are independent, they share traits that unify them, giving the novel a certain cohesion.

The first novella, *A Fonte*, recounts events that took place in the territory known as the Sete Povos das Missões in the 18th century. One of the main characters, Father Alonzo, a Jesuit working in the area with Indigenous people, encounters a woman about to give birth. The woman dies during childbirth, but the baby, a mestizo named Pedro, survives and becomes the object of great attention from the priest. As time passes, Pedro grows into an intelligent young man deeply connected to religion, frequently narrating occurrences of visions tied to Catholic symbolism. This chapter concludes with a description of the territorial dispute between the Portuguese and Spanish.

In the novella *Ana Terra*, the main character bears her name. Ana Terra is the daughter of a man who chose to settle in Rio Grande do Sul as a farmer. Pedro, the character introduced in the previous chapter, is found wounded in the woods by her and eventually becomes her father's employee. Ana develops a strong desire for the mestizo, which leads to her pregnancy. Her father's reaction upon discovering this is violent; he orders his sons to take Pedro far from the farm, but Ana feels they have actually killed him. Years later, the farm is attacked by Castilian forces, and all the men in the family are killed, with Ana Terra being raped. The protagonist survives with her sister-in-law and child, and the group manages to get help to escape the region, eventually settling in Santa Fé.

The narrative of *Um Certo Capitão Rodrigo* begins with Captain Rodrigo's arrival in Santa Fé. The protagonist falls in love with Bibiana Terra, the granddaughter of Ana Terra from the previous chapter. However, the young woman is courted by the son of the most important man in town, and her father does not approve of Rodrigo. Nevertheless, Rodrigo does everything in his power to stay in the city and marry Bibiana, even entering into a duel with his rival, who cowardly shoots him. After recovering from his injury, Rodrigo obtains consent to marry Bibiana and opens a general store with her brother. The marriage goes well until, over time, and with the arrival of children, Rodrigo loses interest in his wife, begins to drink excessively, gamble, and take lovers. The protagonist dies at the end of the narrative, caught up in another military conflict: the Guerra dos Farrapos.