Ki-rye, from a respectable but poor family, is married off to the deceased son of a powerful government official. Her father-in-law takes pity on her miserable and lonely condition and helps her to run away. She becomes a servant in Minister Choi's house. She marries again to a low-level noble, but finds herself in dire straits when it appears that she is unable to produce a male child to carry on the bloodline.
