A movie set in Kyoto, Japan in 1950. It's about a beautiful young girl (who was sold by her father to a brothel) and a stammering trainee monk (who was sent to a famous temple in Kyoto by his mother). The two main characters love each other and dream of returning to their home-town and marrying. But things don't work out so peachy and after the trainee monk gets into trouble with the police he flips and sets fire to the temples' beautiful golden pavilion. He dies in the inferno and the girl, who had been in hospital, flees to the beach near where she used to live and she passes away. Her father and the boys' mother are there with her at the end.