Two decades before the story begins, a young girl saves her younger brother from drowning at the hands of their abusive father. The boy watches as his sister and father are consumed by flames triggering within him a psychotic fascination with fire. He brings his new interest in flames to light by burning down the children's ward at the hospital where he was housed. By the time the story begins, the boy has grown into a man and has perfected his arsonist's tendencies. The fire department finds their hands full battling, not only blazes (and Seoul's traffic problems) but a lunatic bent on eliminating those who would stop his fires.