Hang Gi, a tough pimp ruling his brothel with an iron fist, has a huge chip on his shoulder. Moments after setting eyes on Seon-hwa, a pretty and proper college student, he forces her to kiss him, indifferent to her disgust, until a beating by soldiers sends him on his way. A scheme is concocted by which Seon-hwa will be blackmailed, bankrupted and offered no alternative but to work in Hang Gi's brothel. From this unlikely beginning, a strange romance flowers.

"Certainly one of the most provocative filmmakers around... fans admire his unflinching social, sexual and emotional observations. Kim Ki-Duk pulls no punches in his new urban opus. A twisted, tortured love story if ever there was one, to each of the protagonists love is a weakness they refuse to concede. A remarkable lead performance which manages to convey anger and longing, affection and pain all in the same glance." - Screen International

"A skewed beauty-and-the-beast yarn played out with all of Kim's dark fatalism." - Variety