Documentary about middle-class people in Rio de Janeiro, in the 1960s, when Brazil was going through a hard period in its history, with the military coup and the following dictatorship. Interviews with people in the street disclose their fears, aspirations and political alienation.
Wanted for killing his boss, Manuel flees with his wife Rosa to the sertão, the barren landscape of Northern Brazil. Thrust into a primordial violent region, Manuel and Rosa come under the influence and control of a series of frightening figures.
The boss of Gilberto, an exemplary employee, wants to marry him with his daughter, Elisabeth. But her cousin, an unattractive girl, appears to meet him. Gilberto, who leads a hectic life, knows Betty, independent girl by whom one falls in love. In the end, she discovers that she is the boss's daughter.
