A stranger carrying 11 bars of gold, arrives in the small town of Viscos, in search of an answer to a question: are human
beings essentially good or evil? He believes to a great extent, that all men are evil and will commit heinous crimes when tempted. He has lost his wife and daughters by a cruel twist of fate and believes that we are all doomed to suffer. He
challenges a young woman, Chantal Prym, who works in the local bar, to a bizarre test. He will give one gold bar to her and the rest to the
villagers if they commit a murder within the next seven days. If they fall for the temptation, he’ll believe he was right; if not, then he would be proved wrong. Either way, he’ll leave with a definite answer to his question. What follows is the dilemma faced by the girl, who is afraid to follow her dreams when the moment arrives. The pusillanimous, nevertheless greedy, villagers decide to go ahead with the crime, but are finally convinced otherwise, by the girl. The stranger realizes that people have both good and evil in them, it’s ultimately a matter of choice.
The story is typical of Coelho’s works, since it raises fundamental questions related to our very existence. It’s an emotional saga about the daily struggle between good and evil, within our souls. It inspires us to reflect on the choices we make and dares us to triumph over challenges to accomplish our dreams.