In the heart of Manchuria, life comes cheap. Isamu Higata, a soldier in the Japanese-controlled puppet state of Manchukuo, is marked by battle's cruel touch, losing his right eye. Cast out to toil under harsh superiors at an agricultural site, he stumbles upon a patch of poppies, the source of opium. Driven by filial duty, Isamu delves into the dangerous world of drug production to save his ailing mother, a decision that will steer his destiny and shape the course of Manchuria.