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 a little forgotten town three bandits robbers a bank and manages to run away with a lot of dough. The police is triggered killing two of them after a pursuit and Ruth now is the only to scape.