Coirana claims to have restarted the cangaço and seeks to take the revenge of Lampião and other cangaceiro martyrs, presenting the tale of Saint George and the Dragon in a contemporary class conflict context.

They threaten the town of Jardim de Piranhas governed by Coronel Horácio (Joffre Soares) a blind and old cattle owner married to younger and attractive Laura (Odete Lara).

However, Antônio is changed by his experiences with the poor, and so he then demands that the coronel distribute the food stored in a warehouse to the remaining cangaceiros.

The coronel is killed by Antão (Mário Gusmão), the helper and possibly lover of Dona Santa in a scene reminiscent of Saint George slaying the Dragon iconography.

The movie ends with Antônio das Mortes walking by the roadside, carrying on the struggle - in some ways hopeless or unending - which extends beyond the killing of the colonel and the expropriation of his land.