Episode 1 explores North East Brazil's landscape and its remarkable colonial heritage, including slavery and the first Portuguese settlements The show also travels from Sao Luis just south of the equator to the bustling city of Salvador, the capital of Bahia, once described as 'the most African city in the western hemisphere'.

Episode 2 shows how the Yanomami people -hunter-gatherers and warriors - are now having to put their survival skills to the test in the political arena as they battle gold diggers and loggers. The show also looks at the famed Manaus Opera House, takes a boat to Fordlandia where the dreams of Henry Ford to build a new world are now rotting in the jungle, and Brazil's capital, Brasilia.

In Episode 3 examines the center of Brazil's economic miracle - the mineral rich state of Minas Gerais - and one of the world's greatest cities - Rio de Janeiro. which will host the Olympics in 2016 and be one of the main venues for the World Cup in 2014. The show also investigates the city's reputation for violence, partying and the hundreds of shanty towns or favelas that make up a big part of the city being virtually no-go areas for the authorities.

Episode 4 looks at Sao Paolo, a megacity of 30 million people where the super rich now have to commute by helicopter. At the Embraer factory, third largest plane maker in the world, the show depicts Brazil's melting pot of workers whose origins could be Italian, Japanese or German and many more. Finally, heading south west the episode shows the animal rich wetlands of the Pantanal and the dramatic Iguazu Falls.