It's the 1800s, Mansuk lives in a village on the outskirts of Seoul as a butcher; but his main job is beheading those sentenced to death. Whenever political strife erupts, he's kept busy. The servant of a rich man pays Mansuk to behead his master efficiently. Mansuk violently rapes the beautiful daughter of the rich man who's to be executed. He hates the upper-class but keeps his promise to kill gently. After her father's death, Sookyoung and her mother are sold off as slaves. Mansuk hears of this and tries finding her for a long time. Eventually they live happily together but then another revolution happens. How far will Mansuk become entangled in the turmoil and what will become of Sookyoung and their son?