While Kichi, her son, is off in war, a woman and her daughterinlaw survive by killing samurai who stray into their swamp, then selling whatever valuables they find. Both are destroyed when they learn that Kichi has died, but his wife begins an affair with a neighbor who lived the war,'' Hachi. The mother tries to frighten her daughterinlaw with an mask by a samurai and, if she can't steal Hachi for himself, disapproves.