A small town in Australia, in the late 1950s: Brownie and Lola are deeply in love. But because they are under-age, their parents are against their relationship and try to separate them.

Fresh out of reform school, a bunch of delinquent girls fall in with a gang of crooks and are put to work as "hostesses" in a number of mob-controlled bars and cafes. The girls are expected to string along male customers so that the latter will squander their money on watered-down drinks and fixed poker games. When one gullible New Yorker is clipped to the tune of $18,000 worth of diamonds, the Law closes in.

In 19th century France, an escaped convict seeks redemption while caring for a young woman whose mother he once protected, and aligning himself with a band of student revolutionaries.

A meditation on violence and its recurrence in time. It shows circumstances that make vagrants unable to make their life better. They try to survive, albeit not sheltered correctly.