Starting from a historical reality of the late 19th century — the presence of Portuguese trading houses (outposts) along the Congo River, which were mainly dedicated to the trafficking of ivory — Hugo Vieira da Silva sets up a claustrophobic environment where two Portuguese arrive. For them, Africa is a cursed, incomprehensible force that does not fit into the rules of the “West”, but to which they still think it is possible to bring “civilisation”. The film constructs the African landscape as a paradox between the luxuriant beauty of the jungle and a gaze that descends into the depths of alienation and decadence.