Young-soon, who cannot have children, and Kyung-ja, who becomes a second wife to finance her younger brother left alone during the war. A tense tug-of-war begins surrounding the husband of the two women. However, gradually, understanding each other's circumstances, the two women become friends. After the husband, who worked on a long-haul ship, dies, the two women manage the household without men. Young-soon, upon reading her husband's diary which contained love for Kyung-ja, feels jealousy but keeps this secret to herself. Meanwhile, Kyung-ja, who was searching for love without knowing this truth, runs away one night with Dal-joong, who had been approaching her since their marriage. Young-soon, left alone, experiences the death of her mother-in-law and leads a difficult life with Sang-min, the young son left by Kyung-ja, and a heavy burden of debt. Time passes, Young-soon finds Kyung-ja wandering around the port area and brings her home. However, the son Sang-min refuses to accept his biological mother who abandoned him. Seeing Kyung-ja dramatically reconcile with her son and start a new life, Young-soon feels an inexplicable sense of emptiness. On the day Kyung-ja and Sang-min prepare a birthday feast for her, Young-soon hands over her husband's diary, which she had kept, to Kyung-ja.