Rio de Janeiro after dark, followed from sunset to sunrise through the people who keep the city running while others sleep. Garbage collector Luiz da Silva and his crew clear Copacabana Beach and empty bins across the metropolis overnight, while biologist Ricardo Freitas motors through a western lagoon studying the thousands of caimans that surface once the tourists are gone. Samba singer Jacky Rocha moves between rehearsals and late gigs ahead of carnival, describing samba as a tool against racism rather than just entertainment. Nanny Gilmara dos Santos leaves her home in a poor, dangerous suburb in the dark to reach a wealthy family's house in the city's south on time, a commute that traces Rio's inequality directly onto the map. The film also enters a Candomblé terreiro, where drumming, singing, and dance summon the orixás in rituals that practitioners once had to hide from persecution. Moving between beach, lagoon, stage, bus route, and shrine, the film builds a portrait of a city held together at night by workers, believers, and performers most visitors never see.