Lavoura Arcaica is a version in reverse of the parable of the prodigal son. André is the straying son. Pedro , his older brother , at the bequest of his mother , undertakes the mission of bringing him back home.Through André´s memories , we learn the reasons for his flight : his father´s rigid discipline and his mother´s suffocating tenderness. Contrary to his father´s sermons , André afirms life , sex and liberty.

In spite of the opression , André ´s body doesn´t resist and he transgresses the laws of society , falling in love with his beautiful sister, Ana . Giving in to his mother´s appeals , André returns home , definitively destroying the family´s foundations.