In Portugal, a director proposes to build fictional stories from the miserable reality. However, failing to find meaning in his work, he runs away, leaving the beautiful Scheherazade to tell the tales to the King on his behalf. Scheherazade tells of the restlessness that befell the country:'It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that in a sad country among all countries, where people dream of mermaids and whales, and unemployment is spreading…'