Diogo is a cartographer and artist who is encharged to set the new frontiers of Portuguese Colonies in South America. When he reaches the center of the continent, finds apparently nothing but wilderness and ‘uncivilized’ natives with strange ways of living. But Captain Pedro, the rude scout who guides him through the jungle, involves Diogo in an involuntary act of violence which will tie him in an unusual way to that far away country. At the same time, the Portuguese colonists are trying to make peace with Guaicuru Indians (one of the few natives with horse-riding abilities). But peace doesn’t ever have a low price.

小女孩泰娜和爷爷是生活在亚马逊热带雨林里的美洲土著人，森林里里有许多珍禽异兽，但捕猎者不断的捕杀已经使它们濒临灭绝。善良的泰娜时常破坏猎人设下的陷阱和丝网，捕猎者头目沙巴对她恨之入骨。
一次，沙巴又得到了购买珍稀动物者的指示，要寻找一对少见的“絮绒猴”母子并开价100万美元。沙巴的手下用香蕉诱使一对絮绒猴入了网，这一切都被泰娜发现，虽然只是个年幼的女孩，但泰娜还是机智地救出了小猴。丢掉了小猴的沙巴怒不可遏，但为了交差，他只好拿另外一只不同种的猴子充数，这引起了买家的不满。
泰娜给小絮绒猴起名“卡度”，意为“美丽”，在躲避沙巴等人同时，她还认识了生物学家伊莎贝尔的儿子朱尼霍，因为要逃离母亲的管束，朱尼霍和泰娜离开了宿营地。经过一段时间的森林生活，朱尼霍从一个只喜欢汉堡包和电子游戏的城市男孩变成了森林里的“卡瑞布”（勇敢的人），而小絮绒猴卡度历经磨难后也终于回到了妈妈的身边。