To maximize economic productivity, the Brazilian government orders elderly people to move to remote housing colonies. A 77-year-old woman refuses and embarks on a journey through the Amazon that will change her destiny forever.

An independent private security firm arrives at a middle-class neighborhood in Recife, Brazil.

Two sisters, Bethânia and Laura, reunite to discuss a family matter. They travel the roads of the Pernambuco hinterland in search of their father's body, Seu Lauro. At home, Bethânia's daughter edits a video in which the living and the dead become intertwined in a game of silences and revelations. Ao Sabor das Cinzas (Led by the Ashes) is a magical realism piece about the collapse of communication and grief conveyed in real time.