李淑姬丧夫8年，在一家洋装店工作，欠了大笔债务。在出版社任职的金成奎帮她垫付了所有债务，两人相爱。但是，成奎和社长的女儿早有婚约。为了弟弟能够飞黄腾达，成奎的姐姐急于让两人完婚。淑姬的女儿为了母亲的幸福，积极建议母亲和成奎结婚。尽管淑姬和成奎真诚相爱，但有碍于伦理道德，以及周围人的眼光，淑姬选择了退出。她卖掉房子，准备回老家。一直被蒙在鼓里成奎得知真相，立即赶赴车站，却只能看着淑姬搭乘的火车远离，惆怅不已。

Choi So-young (Choi Eun-hee), a poor female law student is in trouble because her grandmother, who had been sending her tuition money, passes away. With the help of her friend Hee-suk, (Kim Suk-il) who dreams of becoming a writer, So-young fools Choi Rim (Kim Seung-ho), a lawmaker, into believing she is his daughter and moves in his house. She studies hard and becomes a lawyer. At her first trial, she defends a female inmate (Hwang Jeong-sun). Coincidentally, the story of the inmate is very much similar to hers. So-young defends her, saying how difficult it is for a woman to survive in a cold capitalism, arguing for her rights in tears. After she wins the case, she goes home and confesses her crime to Choi Rim's wife (Yu Gye-seon).