Man-seok is an executioner living in a butcher village outside the Su-gu gate, who beheads many people whenever a political upheaval occurs in the country. One day, a servant from a noble family asks him to strike his master only with the back of his blade during the next day's execution to leave the body intact. The deal is settled for two hundred yang, and the person who brings the money that night is Sook-young, the beautiful daughter of the family. That night, Man-seok brutally violates her, as he harbors a grudge against the Yangban. Later, he keeps his promise and kills her father by striking him only with the back of his blade. Afterward, Sook-young is captured by guards while searching for her father's body and is taken to the mansion of the grand intendant Kang, where she and her mother are sold into slavery. Meanwhile, Man-seok hears of Sook-young's tragic fate, regrets his past actions, and begins to search for her. Eventually, he finds her at the house of a human trafficker, rescues her, and cares for her with great devotion.