Brazil, late 19th century. The monarchy has been abolished, and the young republic is trying to consolidate itself. A wandering preacher, called the Counselor, travels through areas plagued by famine, disease, and chronic poverty, proclaiming the end of the world. A group of outcasts, the poorest in the land, gathers around him, determined to defend the true faith against the Antichrist, who seeks to corrupt humanity. This Antichrist is the republic. They establish the "Society of the Poor" in Canudos, a "new Jerusalem." With brotherhood and solidarity, they aim to resist. However, the insurgents face opposition from all sides: the church concerned for its authority, a patriarchal feudal lord, two republicans fighting for their own power, and the revolutionary Galileo Gall. All of them react with fear to the establishment.