The tiny (for Africa) country and former Portuguese colony of Guinea Bisseau, which is where this colorful movie originated, is on the western bulge of Africa, quite near Gambia. In the story, Yonta is a girl with an irrepressible spirit of joy. At least two men in the story are in love with her, and she believes she is in love with one of them. However, the fishmonger Vincente, who suffered greatly in the war for independence some eighteen years before, is less interested in Yonta's love for him than in finding one of his missing fellow combatants. Meanwhile, an upstanding young man from the countryside, Ze, has written her a love-letter which touched Yonta's heart deeply. While living in the city in order to further his studies, he supports himself as Vincente's chauffeur.