From acclaimed Japanese director Mikio Naruse comes this somber and moving tale of Keiko (Hideko Takamine), a middle-aged bar hostess who entertains businessmen after work in the postwar Ginza district of Tokyo. Soon, she finds herself at an unwelcome crossroads -- marry a rich client or buy a bar of her own. Naruse, in one of his most socially conscious films, examines the system that traps Keiko in this dehumanizing and merciless lifestyle.