The story is set in 1967 in Yasothon Province, Thailand, where Yam is a hard-working, humble, and kind farmer—kind, that is, except when it comes to the attentions of Joei, the homely maid of Soy, who is the girlfriend of Yam's cousin, Tong. Yam nurses stray and injured animals of all kinds, but he never has nice things to say to Joei....