During the late 1980s, two detectives in a South Korean province attempt to solve the nation's first series of rape-and-murder cases.

An isolated lake, where an old monk lives in a small floating temple. The monk has a young boy living with him, learning to become a monk. We watch as seasons and years pass by.

Shin-ah, a free spirit, has an unexpected encounter with Dong-gi, who seeks excitement. After a passionate night, she breaks up with her boyfriend and reunites with Dong-gi when he calls. The two fall madly in love.

Kim Nam-woo struggles through life as people around him constantly leave him; his best friend, Jun-ho, is going to study in Seoul and in some ways his widowed mother is "leaving" him too by paying more attention to her new boyfriend. To escape, he goes to a dream world, where he meets a girl named Mari. The story follows Nam-woo in discovering himself and maturing.