The widow piano teacher Lúcia and her unemployed teenage son Rafa move to a poor neighborhood in the periphery of São Paulo after the bankrupting of her pension plan. Rafa a.k.a. Pilot tells his mother that he is going to the movie theater with his friend Beto, but they go to a street racing instead in a car that Beto has stolen in the workshop where he works. While seeking the documents, they find a revolver in the glove compartment. When Rafa hits the car of a black man in a maneuver, he shoots Beto on the chest. Rafa takes the gun and accidentally kills a girl. He is sent to prison and during one visit, Lúcia meets the influent lawyer Ruiva and they befriend each other. Ruiva, who is one of the head of the criminal organization "Party", offers money to the needy Lúcia to help her in minor wrongdoings, such as bringing illegal stuff to the inmates. Meanwhile the leaders of the powerful criminal organization have inner fights; when they are sent to a maximum security prison, they order rebellions in the prisons and havoc on the streets on the Mother's Day. Lúcia gets a remission to Rafa for this day, but the teenager has obligations with the Party.