There is a town with a well called 'Bachelor's Well' after a young man dug the well and jumped in to kill himself when his love for a girl from a rich family ended miserably. The story is about a ferryboat rower, a bum with a limp, and many other men all fighting to get the love of one girl. Three beggars who die with grudges against this town appear every night as ghosts to haunt and curse their foes.

It breaks Yeong-bok's heart to leave his old mother and younger sister home to leave his hometown. He married into Bong-seon's family and worked for 7 years but when Joo Myeong-goo snatches Bong-seon away, he decides to leave town. Blaming his cursed fate for everything, he gets a job as a luggage carrier in Seoul. That is when he meets Yeong-hee who works in the vicinity. Yeong-ok also leaves home to come up to Seoul after their mother passes away but she cannot find her brother. Instead, she meets Gae-cheol, an old friend from her hometown and also a good friend of Joo Myeong-goo. Yeong-ok loses her virginity to Gae-cheol and when Yeong-bok finds out about this, he gives Gae-cheol and Myeong-goo a good beating and starts working harder for a better tomorrow.