Querô is an orphan teenager, living alone near the docks in Santos, Brazil. His mother, a prostitute, died when he was a baby, and he was raised in the bordello where she worked. Believing he rules his own destiny, he refuses to compromise with anyone else, the corrupt policemen always chasing him, the oppressive discipline in the juvenile institution Febem, or the drug dealers who try to lure him. But this independence has a price.