In rural Vietnam 200 years ago, a young woman is tried for getting pregnant out of wedlock. When she refuses to speak, the village elders order that her baby be set adrift on the river. Just as the child is about to be sent to its fate, a fierce thunder storm breaks out and kills many people. The baby survives, but the mother is jailed out of fear. Years later, the boy wanders through the countryside seeking traces of his mother's life.