Adrift, unhappy, and desperately needing money to pay for his ailing adoptive father's care, Ubaldo - a bank clerk who's unable to remember his childhood years - receives an inheritance that will change his destiny for good. He's drawn to Cratará, in the heart of the northwest desert, where meets his sisters - Dinorah and Dilvania -, his past, and ultimately, his vocation: to become the leader of a pack of dangerous bank robbers. To fulfill the legacy of his biological father - a mythical "Cangaceiro" - Ubaldo must face thieves, corrupt politicians, the local police, and place his own morals in jeopardy.