Shohei Imamura -- one of the progenitors of the Japanese new wave of filmmaking of the 1960s -- explores a favorite theme, the sensuality and resilience of women, is this tale of a downtrodden housewife's (Masumi Harukawa) unlikely path to independence. Using traditional narrative as well as his trademark flashbacks and dream sequences, Imamura paints a portrait of a woman who forges a relationship with her rapist to escape her current life.