Citizens of Angola struggle to piece themselves back together after the end of the country's thirty year civil war. The tale centers around the lives of four extraordinary characters: ex-soldier Vitório, whose leg was blown off by a landmine; Maria Barbara, who caters to men who mistreat her and yearns for her missing son; the orphaned young Manu, who gets into trouble in the streets; and Joana, a schoolteacher luckier than the others but cynical about the possibilities of political justice.