Episode 1-25 Plot Synopsis
Episode 1
Shin Tae-hwan is the son-in-law of the founder of Taeseong Group, a giant chaebol in Korea, and when the well-educated miner Lee Ki-chul gets in his way by forming a labor union, he decides to have him killed by staging a mining accident. Shin Tae-hwan has an affair with Nurse Mi-ae of Taebaek Hospital and she ends up getting pregnant. When she refuses to get an abortion, he sends his men to kidnap her and force her to get an abortion while she is sedated. He promptly dumps her.
Choon-hee, Lee Ki-chul’s wife, gives birth just days before her husband will meet his cruel death. On the same day she gives birth, Oh Yoon-hee, Shin Tae-hwan’s wife, also gives birth to a son at the same hospital. Burning with a desire to get revenge on Shin Tae-hwan, Nurse Mi-ae switches Shin Tae-hwan’s and Lee Ki-chul’s babies.
Episode 2
Lee Ki-chul dies in the mining accident that was planned by Shin Tae-hwan. Because of the switch that Mi-ae made, Shin Tae-hwan’s real son becomes Lee Dong-wook, the son of miner Lee Ki-chul, while Lee Ki-chul’s son is raised by Shin Tae-hwan and is groomed to be the heir of the Taeseong Group.
One day, Shin Tae-hwan has Choon-hee’s home burnt down so that Lee Ki-chul’s family will have no choice but to leave the town of Taebaek. Dong-wook flies into a rage and sets Shin Tae-hwan’s home on fire. Dong-chul tells everyone he was the arsonist to protect his brother and he runs away from the police...
Episode 3
While running away from the authorities, Dong-chul is caught by the police after Shin Tae-hwan has the entire police force comb the area. Dong-chul is sent to a juvenile reformatory. While enduring beatings in the facility, he befriends Wang Gun, a leader of the boys, who is planning to break out from the detention facility. Choon-hee makes a visit to the facility to see Dong-chul and he vows to look after his family as the eldest son but he also learns from Ki-soon that his mother has a serious disease.
Episode 4
While running away from the authorities, Dong-chul is caught by the police after Shin Tae-hwan has the entire police force comb the area. Dong-chul is sent to a juvenile reformatory. While enduring beatings in the facility, he befriends Wang Gun, a leader of the boys, who is planning to break out from the detention facility. Choon-hee makes a visit to the facility to see Dong-chul and he vows to look after his family as the eldest son but he also learns from Ki-soon that his mother has a serious disease.
Episode 5
After escaping from the juvenile reformatory, Dong-chul is able to earn enough money to pay for Choon-hee’s life-saving operation but he finds that he has no choice but to join a gang. He partners with Cheng, a former police informant, to open illegal gambling parlors and smuggle in slot machines. Three years later, Shin Tae-hwan is still causing problems to his family and he kidnaps Dong-wook.
Without any options left, Dong-chul leaves Korea with Cheng but Choon-hee blames him for causing their problems when she sees Dong-wook beaten up badly...
Episode 6
Upon arriving in Macao, Cheng is kidnapped by a mysterious group of men and Dong-chul is left alone there.
Ji-hyun and the folks living in Taebaek gather together to celebrate Dong-wook’s scholastic achievement, Myung-hoon, who is filled with envy and hatred, ruins the party. Myung-hoon assaults his biological mother Choon-hee and forces Ji-hyun to board his helicopter...
Episode 7
Ji-hyun and the folks living in Taebaek gather together to celebrate Dong-wook’s scholastic achievement, Myung-hoon, who is filled with envy and hatred, ruins the party. Myung-hoon assaults his biological mother Choon-hee and forces Ji-hyun to board his helicopter...
Episode 8
While sitting in front of a department store, Choon-hee sees Myung-hoon in a jewelry store with Ji-hyun. She witnesses Myung-hoon putting a necklace around Ji-hyun’s neck. Choon-hee cannot believe what she is seeing.
Meanwhile, Dong-chul comes home after work and discovers Ken lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Suddenly, a man emerges from the shadows and strikes Dong-chul with a weapon.
Episode 9
After a long struggle, Young-ran is able to free herself and escape. Dong-chul gets shot when he stands in front of Young-ran to protect her. Due to delays in an urban renewal project that are caused by Choon-hee, Myung-hoon goes to Choon-hee’s home and wrecks the place.
Meanwhile, Dong-chul learns that Shin Tae-hwan is in Macao and tracks down his car with the help of Ken’s gang. They encircle Shin Tae-hwan’s car and wreck it. Dong-chul pummels Shin Tae-hwan, who can hardly defend himself from the attacks...
Episode 10
Ji-hyun tells Dong-wook about the local government’s plan to forcefully raze the neighborhood where his mother lives. Dong-wook threatens to harm Myung-hoon if he goes through with it.
Meanwhile, Dong-chul asks Chairman Kuk to take him under his wing after he successfully returns from finishing the job. After Dong-chul talks with Dong-wook on the phone, he decides to return immediately...
Episode 11
Myung-hoon is awoken by a call from Shin Tae-hwan. He then remembers that Ji-hyun was with him and looks for her but can only find her clothes. When Myung-hoon’s opens the bathroom door, he hears her scream at him. Meanwhile, Shin Tae-hwan is shocked when he hears that Dong-chul returned to Korea with Chairman Kuk...
Episode 12
Dong-wook is tortured in Namyoung-dong and left in the middle of a field. He hears the voice of his brother. When he lifts his head, Dong-wook sees Dong-chul before him and he cries with joy.
Meanwhile, Myung-hoon, who is the president of Taesung Construction firm, leads a group of thugs who will tear down the slum where Dong-wook lives. He spots Dong-chul...
Episode 13
While Dong-chul visits Dong-wook who is in the army, Shin Tae-hwan and Kim Tae-sun discuss a plan to harm Chairman Kuk.
While Dong-chul is on the phone with Young-ran, he realizes that Chairman Kuk is falling into a trap set by Kim Tae-sun and he immediately contacts Doksa, Bangja, and Geomu...
Episode 14
After Ji-hyun leaves Dong-wook, she marries Myung-hoon in a tearful wedding. While the well-wishers congratulate her, Ji-hyun sees Dong-wook standing far away.
Meanwhile, Dong-chul goes to the construction site where Choon-hee is working but Choon-hee tells him to stay away from Dong-wook.
Episode 15
Young-ran goes to the hotel to meet Dong-chul and when she enters his suite, he embraces him passionately. They kiss each other with a rush of emotions after being apart for so long. Young-ran tells Dong-chul that she is ready to sacrifice everything to be with him and asks him why he is hesitant to start a new life with her.
Meanwhile, Sung-hyun decides to call off his engagement to Hye-ryeong because he finds himself attracted to her sister, Hye-rin. Lady Bae gets furious when she learns that Sung-hyun broke his engagement with Hye-ryeong because of Hye-rin and slaps her (Hye-rin).
Episode 16
By chance, Ji-hyun meets Dong-wook at a hospital and she tells him to stop demonstrating against the government to fight for democracy. Dong-wook tells her that the hardest thing in his life was trying to forget her.
Meanwhile, Wang Gun kidnaps Ki-soon and makes a call to Dong-chul...
Episode 17
After kidnapping Ki-soon, Wang Gun calls Dong-chul and tells him that if he wants to save Ki-soon’s life then he must come to him alone. In a rage, Dong-chul threatens bodily harm to Wang Gun if he lays one finger on Ki-soon.
Meanwhile, Chairman Kuk holds a party for Janice and introduces Mike as Young-ran’s future husband in front of all his guests.
Episode 18
Young-ran gets very upset when she sees how Chairman Kuk pushes Dong-chul to win a share of the illegal slot machine business in Busan. Young-ran approaches Dong-chul and pleads with him to leave everything and run away with her but Dong-chul tells her to stop interfering with his life and yells at her to go away...
Episode 19
Dong-chul goes to Yang San-bak’s gang, which has deep connections with Shin Tae-hwan, where he is beaten with steel pipes by the gang members. In his negotiations with Yang San-bak, he offers to hand over his exclusive business rights to importing slot machines and development rights for a golf course...
Episode 20
On the day of Young-ran’s and Mike’s engagement, Dong-chul visits his hometown and reminisces the past. Vowing to achieve his father’s dreams of making his hometown into a flourishing city, Dong-chul serenely looks at Mt. Taebaek. But Wang Gun and his men catch up with him and have him surrounded. Wang Gun wants Dong-chul to hand over the exclusive import rights to his slot machine business over to him. Dong-chul is beaten and collapses...
Episode 21
When Hye-rin comes to his home, Dong-wook doesn’t look at her face but his anger subsides when Hye-rin talks about how she had to hide the fact that she was the daughter of the founder of Hanse Daily. Dong-wook warmly embraces Hye-rin when she tearfully talks about her past.
Meanwhile, Young-ran gets ready to leave for Hong Kong with Mike and at the airport she sees a newspaper headline that Dong-chul was arrested for stealing a slot machine license contract. She leaves the airport in haste...
Episode 22
Chairman Kuk goes to meet Dong-chul to track down Young-ran who can’t be found. Meanwhile, Choon-hee tells Dong-chul that he’s an obstacle to Dong-wook’s future and tells her that she’ll disown him...
Episode 23
Young-ran asks Dong-chul to go somewhere far away where her father can’t find them. When Young-ran tells Dong-chul that she loves him, Dong-chul says he loves her, too. When Dong-chul says those words, Young-ran’s heart flutters and she becomes breathless.
Meanwhile, Chairman Kuk and the Aeku gang keep searching for Dong-chul and Young-ran...
Episode 24
While chasing Dong-wook, Gyeong-tae tries to kill him with his car and then cover it up to make it look like an accident but his plan fails. Dong-wook goes to Chairman Oh while carrying a tape recording of Shin Tae-hwan giving orders to Jang Hyun-tae to kill someone. When Chairman Oh hears the tape, he collapses from shock and when Shin Tae-hwan belatedly arrives he tries to frame Dong-wook for the murder...
Episode 25
Cheon Teuk-bo tells Dong-chul that he’ll release Dong-woo who has been arrested as a murder suspect if Dong-chul will leave the country and go to Hong Kong. When Dong-chul arrives in Hong Kong, he shockingly discovers Young-ran at a hospital where she is handcuffed.
