Mendonça Filho's film takes place in Brazil during Carnival in the 1970s. The city of Recife, bathed in the blazing sun, is on the verge of madness: people are dying during the festive celebration, a shark with a human leg in its belly is found somewhere on the beach, and two assassins on a secret mission prowl among the crowds... The colors and joy are just a facade – these are the times of a brutal military dictatorship. Marcelo, the protagonist of "The Secret Agent," is a man accidentally entangled in a web of political and criminal intrigues reaching the very top of power. He was honest, so he became the target of a corrupt system, and now every step could cost him his life. How can one save oneself and one's family in a world of brutal violence, false identities, wiretapping, and lies?