Fresh from the country, Duk-bae (Ahn Sung-ki), Chun-sik (Lee Young-ho), and Kil-nam (Kim Seong-chan) work at a Chinese restaurant, barbershop, and motel, respectively, in a newly-developing area just outside of Seoul. They share friendship and moral support with one another in their difficult lives. Due to ongoing development, even long-established inhabitants of the area are forced to give up their farmland and leave their homes. Meanwhile, Kil-nam is in love with a hairdresser named Jin-ok, and Chun-sik has his heart set on Miss Yu (Kim Bo-yeon), who works as a shaver in the same barbershop. Simplehearted Duk-bae finds himself torn between Chun-sun (Lim Ye-jin), a bright and spirited girl from the country, and Myung-hi (Yoo Ji-in), a foul-tempered yet captivating high society girl. However, Duk-bae learns that Myung-hi, who pretended to care for him, was merely playing with him. Similarly, Jin-ok runs off without paying back the money she owes Kil-nam. Although Miss Yu loves Chun-sik, she becomes the mistress of Mr. Kim (Choi Bul-am), a regular at the barbershop, in order to pay for her father's medical fees and her siblings' tuition. Enraged, Chun-sik stabs Mr. Kim and ends up in prison. Kil-nam enlists in the military, and Duk-bae resolves to defeat the world by boxing.