Born in Wonsan in 1935, Kim is one of Korea's first-generation female sculptors. At 49, she gave up her professorship and left for Argentina, spending the next 40 years working in South America, following trees, stones, and raw gemstones. Then, at 90, she returned to Korea.

Young-mi, the bookkeeper at a factory, is ridiculed for her dowdy appearance and called 'Ms. Apocalypse' by her colleagues. Do-young, a delivery driver, is the only one to show her any decency and kindness. As her feelings for him grow, Young-mi strives to get him off the hook even when she finds out that Do-young has been embezzling company money. It becomes the last day of 1999, and in the midst of people's fear that the world will come to an end, Young-mi gets arrested for aiding Do-young's crime. And thus, her new millennium starts wretchedly. As she walks out of prison after a few months, she comes across Do-young's wife, Yu-jin, waiting for her and this unexpected visitor makes an implausible but compelling offer.

Hyo-jeong, a 69-year-old woman, is raped—but few people, including the police, are willing to believe what she says.