A remote mountain cottage near the 38th parallel is caught in the midst of battle at the start of the Korean War. The owner, a woman who lives alone, flies either the flag of the North or the South, depending on which army advances closer. At this time, two men arrive at the cottage and the woman agrees to give them refuge. Her home, however, then becomes the scene of a new kind of struggle and her generosity and kindness leads to her losing her family, house and land.