Gupabal is an old village that is soon to disappear into history due to redevelopment. An hour before the evacuated area is scheduled to be detonated, a famous elderly novelist named CHOI Ho sneaks into the village carrying a small bundle. Arriving at the old home where he was raised, CHOI embarks on a journey through the past via a beautiful reunion with his already-deceased mother. However in the midst of these travels through old memories, he accidentally discovers the secret that his mother has been hiding...
Detective Oh goes searching for the murderer of Yang, a small-time brewer bludgeoned to death by a quiet riverside with no witnesses, no apparent motive. As he wanders about the winter landscape of South Jeolla Province and Seoul, he finds himself caught in a story of treachery, rape and murder.
During the era of Japanese occupation, Sol Jin-young, a Korean patriarch refuses to obey the law to change the family's name to a Japanese name. Tani, a member of the Japanese occupation forces, is sent to persuade Sol to comply with the order. Tani is conflicted between his duty, his respect for Korean culture and his attraction to Sol's daughter.
