Lost Heroes

Francisco, the lead character, is a Portuguese-Canadian artist who has just been commissioned to work on a painting celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Portuguese revolution, which took place on April 25, 1974. His agent, upon realizing how distanced Francisco feels from his home, sends him to Portugal to rediscover it. Once there, he goes to meet Catarina, a childhood friend who lives with her family in a small village. Conflict arises when Catarina’s father discovers that Francisco has returned. An ex-captain of the notorious PIDE, the Portuguese equivalent to the KGB, he had Francisco’s father imprisoned, tortured, and killed as a direct reaction to the revolution. Catarina and her mother give Francisco a warm welcome, in spite of her father, who they have come to despise. After discovering a dark secret related to what her father does, Catarina and Francisco flee from the village with her mother. Catarina’s father finally catches up with the two characters in Lisbon where Francisco is beaten and left to die. The last thing he sees as he dies in a pool of his own blood is the 25th anniversary parade marching by. Catarina, who has escaped the wrath of her father, wanders aimlessly into the same crowd, lost.