The film centers around the life of an orphan named N'dala, who is taken to the city of Luanda after the death of his parents during the Angolan civil war. Wanting to return to his hometown of Bié, N'dala flees from the nuns who have saved him into the streets of the city. He wanders from place to place meeting various figures, such as a young man named Zé who tries to help him find a home.