Toshiro Mifune plays the role of a young and idealistic physician who works at the clinic run by his father (Takashi Shimura), which is located in a run-down neighborhood. During the battle, he slashes himself while operating on a patient, and as a result, he becomes infected with syphilis from the patient's blood. Because he was self-medicating in secret and was being tormented by his conscience, he broke off his engagement to his distraught fiancée without providing an explanation.