When the communist-backed army from the north invades her home sixteen-year-old Haemi Lee along with her widowed mother and ailing brother is forced to flee to a refugee camp along the coast. For a few hours each night she escapes her family's makeshift home and tragic circumstances with her childhood friend Kyunghwan. Focused on finishing school Kyunghwan doesn't realize his older and wealthier cousin Jisoo has his sights set on the beautiful and spirited Haemi and is determined to marry her before joining the fight. But as Haemi becomes a wife then a mother her decision to forsake the boy she always loved for the security of her family sets off a dramatic saga that will have profound effects for generations to come.