The totally entangled roots in the brackish water of the tropical and sub-tropical coasts, where fresh water and salt water mix, form a unique habitat – the Mangroves. They are important breeding grounds for innumerous spieces of fish and crustaceans. Worldwide half of the mangrove forests have already been destroyed through urban development, the construction of hotels and especially through the fast growing shrimp industry. The mangroves, though, would be a natural defense against coastal erosion and flood disasters. Through the destruction of the mangrove forests the people living in the coastal regions lose their basis of life. The film focuses on every-day life in the Brasil mangroves and on the extent of the destruction of the forests. It accompanies researchers in their sustained efforts to use and protect the mangroves.