Donato fails in his attempt to save a drowning man, and meets one of the man's friends. He decides to start his life over, but pieces of his past keep coming after him.

The Gran Circo Teatro Americano takes its attractions to the northeastern hinterland. In the city of Aracati, the troupe puts on a fun play about the crisis in hell. With a rochamboesque plot and inspired by string literature, the attraction shows the arrival of the bandit Lamparino to hell and how Lucifer participates in international capitalism. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, loves and tragedies move the lives of artists.