Kaneto Shindô directs this strange and violent Japanese folk tale, involving samurais, peasants, murder, passion, and revenge. In medieval Japan, a widow (Jitsuko Yoshimura) and her mother-in-law (Noboku Otowa) survive by murdering passing samurai soldiers who are exhausted by the war and selling their armour for rice. However, the arrival of Hachi (Kei Satô) threatens their cosy little arrangement...