Luzia comes from the backwoods of Northeast Brazil to Rio de Janeiro, in search of her fiancé. But soon she'll find out he has turned into a dangerous criminal and is being looked after by the police.

The theme deplores the conditions of the slum quarters of Rio (and ghettos everywhere) and finds a young girl from the provinces who comes to Rio de Janiero in search of her fiance and finds he is a feared and hunted criminal. The scenes between the idealistic-but-trapped young lovers is depicted in soft images of tenderness and sensitivity that leads to a climax of shocking violence in the Rio slums.—Les Adams <[email protected]>