Bento de Souza, a devotee of São João, is not reciprocated by his wife, Inocência, who cheats on him with Trindade, a rogue who lives off Bento himself. That year, disgusted by the rumors about him, Bento decided to expel Trindade from the house.
After being deceived by a small time crook with a promise of a job for his family, Bernardino Jabá (Amácio Mazzaropi), his wife Marcolina Jabá (Geny Prado), their two sons, their daughter and their Spanish friend are mistaken as being "cangaceiros" (bandits from the Northeastern of Brazil). They help the police to arrest the outlaws, but Bernardino Jabá misses and is considered dead. When he returns to the small village one year later, the locals believe that it is his soul indeed.
In colonial Brazil, rich farmer and owner of slaves is blackmailed by a lady; to get rid of the problem, he involves innocent countrymen in a diabolical plan.
