However, his world is disrupted when a rival gang injures his prostitute, Maddalena, who ends up in prison due to false testimony.

With his income gone and little interest in regular work, Accattone initially attempts to reconcile with the estranged mother of his child but faces rejection from her relatives.

Haunted by a dream of his own death, he turns to a life of theft with a few friends, ultimately meeting a tragic end in a traffic accident while attempting to evade the police on a stolen motorcycle.

The film was initially supposed to be produced by Federiz, a short-lived production company founded by Federico Fellini and Angelo Rizzoli.

[5] Critic Gino Moliterno, writing for Senses of Cinema magazine, described Accatone and its successor Mamma Roma as cinematic renditions of the world of the "borgate" (Roman shanty towns) of Pasolini's novels Ragazzi di vita (The Ragazzi or The Street Kids, 1955) and Una vita violenta (A Violent Life, 1959).