A talented songwriter of sambas is forced to face the social injustices of the city around him.

A young female fugitive escapes from a juvenile institution (the Child Assistance Service) and joins a group of poor beggars with the intention of finding a potential partner to marry in order to avoid her return to that place.

Rio de Janeiro crooks rove about, performing petty tricks to survive, and get involved with a woman who steals cars.

A newlywed woman, frustrated after her honeymoon, decides to search for lovers on the streets and ends up causing a conflict between her husband, a baker and a black artist.

A man leads a double life: during the day, he's the manager of a car shop but, when the sun goes down, he becomes a crook, pretending to be a playboy (the target being old women), a sultan who is gathering money for his cause, helped by a fake baron and his beautiful daughter.

Five segments about the hardships faced by people living in slums on hills in Rio de Janeiro.

Young robber, son of a prostitute who had killed herself, gets involved with two police informers, who force him to share the loot he gets.

Man leaves his family behind and moves to Nova Iguaçu, a poor and violent city in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. He tries to rebuild his life, but falls in love with a woman who despises him, which drives him mad.

Two criminal friends pick up two women.