João Grilo is a backwoodsman who tries to get along at the expense of the powerful in the city, who pretend to be respectful of morals and good customs and hide their sins. But when a band of cangaceiros attacks the small town, everyone has to settle accounts with God and the Devil.
After being evicted, a family in serious financial difficulties moves into a tenement next to a cemetery. As soon as they settle in, they meet the neighboring couple who, upon learning of the financial problems of the newcomers, offer them a pact to be made through a magical amulet: the monkey paw.