全罗南道木浦家途不幸环境中的“朴泰洙”（暂音译 赵寅成饰）成长为一介好事之徒。高中时期目睹偷盗行为的父亲被检察施暴，体悟到权力与力量的重要。虽然奋斗爬上检察官一职，但毫无背景与根基无异于普通上班族。期间了解到权力中心人物检察官“韩强植”（暂音译 郑雨盛饰）并归其麾下。木浦的同乡朋友“崔斗日”（暂音译 柳俊烈饰）帮助其不断扩展势力，然而成功真的如他们所愿一路畅通？金义城饰演组织头目“金应修”（音译），金雅中饰演富家女出身，费心辅助丈夫“朴泰洙”跻身上流社会的“尚熙”（音译），“朴泰洙”其父由郑成模饰演，其妹由郑恩彩饰演。同时黄胜妍，李珠妍也将参演其中。

Charged with leading demonstrations for the democratization movement, student activist Kim Gi-young (Moon Sung-keun) is a fugitive from the law. He sneaks into a mining village on the verge of being shut down, with a fake ID in hand. Feeling frustrated with the current state of activism, which centers around the intelligentsia, he gets a job as a man-of-all-work at a coal factory and meets the motley inhabitants of the mining village. Dae-sik (Yang Jin-yeong) works to support his family in place of his father, who is in prison for instigating a strike. Detective Kang (Lee Su-chan) always keeps a sharp eye on everything that goes on in the village. Then there are strike organizer Cheon Do-seong (Kang Neung-won), fellow worker Jeong (Hwang Hae), Taek's mother (Kim Kyung-ran), and Sun's mother (Jo Ju-mi). Sung-cheol (Park Joong-hoon), whose father is a local bigshot and the owner of the coal factory, lords it over the neighborhood bars and cafes. Angry at his father (Park Kyu-chae) for leaving his mother and marrying another woman, Sung-cheol vents his resentment on the cafe girls and factory workers. Meanwhile, Young-sook (Shim Hye-jin), who works as a prostitute at the local cafe, is becoming fed up with Sung-cheol's violent and demeaning treatment of her. When she meets Gi-young, who is reserved but warm, she begins to have feelings for him and stops selling sexual favors. As the impending miners' strike darkens the horizon, Gi-young and Young-sook fall in love and enjoy each other's company. Then one day, Sung-cheol receives news of his mother's death and wreaks havoc at the cafe. When Young-sook refuses to satisfy his demands, he starts to beat her up. Gi-young tries to stop him, but his intervention brings him to the attention of Detective Kang and he is hauled off to the police station. Gi-young undergoes torture at the hands of the police, but he is eventually cleared of all charges and released. When he finally comes to through Young-sook's devoted care, he tells her that he is a wanted fugitive. His identity is soon exposed and he is forced to run once more. Young-sook decides to leave the village with him, and heads to the cafefor her things. While making her last coffee delivery, Young-sook runs into Sung-cheol, who tries to stop her from leaving. She ends up killing him, and is dragged off by the police as Gi-young waits for her at the train station.

五十年代初，北京某中学。新学年开始后，同学之间有团结友爱，也有矛盾纠葛。团支书郑波（张闽 饰）一直关注着从孤儿院长大的呼玛丽（施天音 饰），杨蔷云（任冶湘 饰）给刚得了学习奖章的李春（梁彦 饰）提了点意见，为郑波没得奖章鸣不平，为此二人争执起来。一天，郑波巧遇报社编缉田林（郭凯敏 饰），他们愉快地回忆起北京解放前夕一起做地下工作时的情景。看完苏联电影《幸福的生活》后，李春起哄，出同学吴长福（张海燕 饰）的洋相，受到袁老师（彭立齐 饰）批评。杨蔷云在老师启发下，主动帮助出身腐朽家庭的同学苏宁（秦岭 饰），当她听说苏宁与呼玛丽进了教堂祈祷，气得眼泪都出来了，但当她知晓苏宁童年的不幸经历后惊呆了......

他，无人知晓，无人关注。盘桓市井街头，尝尽世间冷暖。无论曾经有过多少幸福与甜蜜，而今只如丧家之犬一般。画着违心糊口的劣作，被周围任何一个人欺负以衬托对方的优越感。他怎能坦然处之吗？显然不是，也许只是根本没有宣泄愤怒的资本和借口。直到某天，一名手持DV的女孩出现在他身旁。女孩无所顾忌，如影随形记录着落魄画家的日常琐事，甚至仿佛能够通过镜头照见他的内心世界。画家与女孩，接受彼此命运的引领，开始让心中的愤懑与怨恨如雨后的野草一般疯长。复仇的怒火一经爆发便难以熄灭，所过之处，尸骸遍野，这正是这群人所无法摆脱的共业……