Vicente, a tax collector, is sent to a distant region to defy the dominion of Melo, a powerful landowner. When Melo's henchmen burn down the collector's office building, the government retaliates by deploying soldiers, overseen by Carvalho, a hard-headed judge. Carvalho orders the soldiers to invade Melo's land, which prompts the start of a full-blown war.

A military man picks up a Native Brazilian woman and heads to a gold panning site where he has undisclosed business to attend to.