Gang-soi is a mean scoundrel who travels up north. Ong-nyo, a woman destined to be widowed, is run out of her village and travels south. Gang-soi and Ong-nyo meet in Chongseok-gwan, a midpoint between Hwang-hae province and Gaeseong, and they get together. As they wander the lands, Ong-nyo works hard while Gang-soi does nothing. They settle down in Mt. Jiri. But when Gang-soi brings back a totem pole while looking for wood and when he tries to start a fire with it, he incurs its wrath and dies. Thus their relationship comes to a tragic end.

The lives of a group of women living in a women's shelter in a red light district of Seoul.

Bun-Yi is sold to a bar for her widowed mother and young sister. There, she meets Dal-Jung and through his arrangement, she gets married into the rural rich Choi family as the wife of the youngest son. She lives as if she were housemaid looking after her mentally deficient husband Young-Ku, parents-in-law, and sister-in-law, and gives birth to a precious son. But she is driven out of the house because of mother-in-law and sister-in-law's evil plot. Going around from restaurants to restaurants, she becomes a owner of a restaurant and lives helping the poor children. Later, she comes to meet Young-Ku working as a shoe shining man in Busan. Mother-in-law and sister-in-law regret their faults in past and Bun-Yi regains their old house. Thus, all of them return to their hometown and live a happy life.

Yoon Hye-ri is abducted by human traffickers while meeting her husband, and Oh In-ae is also kidnapped in Itaewon and her innocence is violated. The two people, who are sold to the provinces, try to escape but fail, and the husband gives up his job and looks for a wife. Then, he meets Oh In-ae and finally rescues his wife with the united power of prostitutes, an alienated group, and vows to live while stroking the deep wounds that a sick society has given to his wife.

Na-young becomes a prostitute when her heart is broken and then she is sexually violated by Jung-han, a street thug.

Widow Ok is the daughter-in-law of the Hwang family in Youngnam region, a family known for its generations of virtuous women. Widow Ok sticks to a life of principles and focuses on rearing her children. Chon-seok is a servant who has feelings for Ok but is resigned to admire from afar. Choi, a man of influence, has his eyes on Ok and wants to get rid of Chon-seok.

Eight years into the reign of King Sungjong of the Chosun Dynasty, a sanction against remarrying for widows was implemented. The belief at the time was that it was better to die of starvation than to compromise one's chastity. Many widows had to live a life of loneliness in the name of defending their chastities. Han, a widow, prays to the gods asking them to alleviate her loneliness. Her devotion moves them and she is given a wooden ball. When one chants "What is it used for?", the ball turns into a man. When the word gets out, all the widows in the village want to take possession of this heavenly gift from the gods. When a conflict to possess the ball ensues between Han and Oh, another widow, the village lord decides to cut it in half.