Myeong-ae loses both her parents during the Korean War and her sister dies soon after. She wanders to Seoul and takes a job in a bar. There she meets, Hak-su, a university student and the two live together. Myeong-ae gives birth to Hak-su's daughter, but soon after, Hak-su is killed in an explosion. Giving up her infant for adoption by an American family, Myeong-ae takes the name 'Anna' and becomes a prostitute for American soldiers