A rural youth, Lin, works as a janitor at an airline in Taipei while attending night school to learn English. He shares a flat with Guo, who makes a fortune catering to Japanese clients. To fund his brother's wedding, Lin borrows from his company. When his father urgently arrives in Taipei seeking money, can Lin resolve his father's concerns? The narrative critiques society's infatuation with foreign ideals and exposes the darker sides of human nature.

A young woman is forced to marry an older man who runs a roadhouse saloon. She is constantly being raped by her husband, a drunken loutish brute. She harbors a young man wanted by the police in a murder case, and soon the fugitive and the young wife have a torrid affair as she continues to hide him from the authorities.