Near the end of the Chosun Dynasty, a vagabond named Eok-swoi wandered over all of Korea. In the end, Eok-swoi settles in a remote village where he becomes the servant of Magistrate Ahn, a man of influence. Eok-swoi engages in an innocent love with Keum-sun, a maiden servant of Ahn. Though he is over the age of 50, Ahn is still childless. He treats his young second wife badly and finally, he turns his eye to Keum-sun. After being alone night after night, the young wife unintentionally starts an affair with Eok-swoi which Ahn discovers. Out of guilt, Keum-sun had rejected all of Ahn's advances to the end. She runs away with Eok-swoi. Afterwards, Ahn becomes disabled and deeply repents his wrongdoings.

A servant gets himself kicked out of the household after seducing the eldest son's wife. He gets another position by blackmail and rules the new home from behind the scenes.

It is the 1930s and Professor Roh, a world-renowned archaeologist from Germany comes to a deserted beach in the South Chungchong Province. Old and ill, he has returned to his hometown. His once grand estate is now in ruins. The memories of his childhood, mother and father, Young-ae, his love, are his only escape from his old and shabby present. The beautiful sorceress of the village hands out despair and the rag-like lepers appear to be his reflections. A portrait of life's fragility and longing is painted through the contrast between the past and the present, life and death, beauty and ugliness.