Plot summary

The grumpy and unpleasant Vincent is a veteran Vietnam sergeant completely broken that gambles in horse races and owes money to the shark Zucko. He is a regular client of the stripper Daka that is closed to him. When the CT operator Maggie moves with her son Oliver to the next-door house, Vincent offers to babysit him to make money. Maggie, who is facing a divorce process, accepts and soon Vincent finds that Oliver is bullied at school. He teaches the boy how to defend himself; he takes him to visit Sandy in a nursing home; and to go to the horse races and bars. Soon they become friends and partners. When Brother Geraghty asks his students to prepare a lecture about a saint, Oliver learns the life of Vincent and understands his behavior.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil