The story expands on a real-life event, the hijacking of a bus in Rio de Janeiro in 2000. It supposedly tells the story of the hostage-taker, Sandro do Nascimento, a 21 year old homeless man who terrorized 11 passengers for 4½ hours and was killed by asphyxiation in a police car on the way to the hospital. Last Stop 174 focuses on how he was doomed to become a criminal.