Young guy from the poor Northeast region of Brazil comes to Rio de Janeiro to try his luck. Naturally, he is faced with many adversities along the way.

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

When Cunda, a man living deep in the Brazilian rainforest, is bitten by a snake, he has a hallucination of four chimpanzees. Once he recovers, he is shocked to find the four chimpanzees waiting for him at home, and, believing them to be special, decides to take them to the city in order to sell them.