故事发生在一九零零年的冬天。日本名作家冈川龙一郎有一次在中国游学时，在南京秦准河柳荫两旁赫然发现了青楼妓寨，如此繁华昌盛的享乐之地，令冈川为之赞叹不已。在窄巷内的一间藕香院里冈川邂逅了一名少女金花，立即被她明媚清秀的气质所吸引，从此注定了冈川与金花在往后的日子里充满着爱恨纠缠的坎坷历程。由相识至相爱，短短数天，冈川与金花的爱火已像熊熊烈火，到了不可收拾的地步。当冈川回日本的时候，金花苦等不见爱人归来，唯有将精神寄托在基督真神的虚幻中，日夜祈祷，藉此补偿自我迷失的痛苦……

Ryuichi Okagawa, a Japanese writer who worked as a reporter in China has been sick ever since his return home. While in China, Okagawa had met a devoutly religious girl named Jin-hua. Okagawa was born with a predisposition to agonizing recurrent migraines, but found happiness with Jin-hua and married her. Unfortunately, he already had a wife in Japan, and this revelation crushed Jin-hua. When Okagawa returned home, leaving Jin-hua behind, she was forced to work as a prostitute, catching both a severe case of the flu and a rather less socially acceptable condition. Meanwhile, Okagawa's guilt has torn him apart enough for him to return to China in an attempt to bring Jin-hua home with him to get medical attention, but the girl is already too far gone for his help.

1920年代の中国・南京。ひとりの日本人作家とまだ幼さの残る娼婦が出会う。その少女・金花は、一点の曇りもない純真さで神を信じていた。一方の作家・岡川は創作に行き詰まり、神を求めつつもその存在を疑問視していた。やがて少女に惹かれていった岡川は、金花との愛の日々の中ですさんだ心を癒し、忘れかけていた創作意欲も次第に高まっていった。しかし彼女は、梅毒に感染してしまう。他人にうつせば治るとも信じられていた病気だったが、敬虔なクリスチャンである金花は客を拒み続ける…。

아쿠타가와 류노스케의 동명 단편소설을 원안으로 삼고 있다. 원작은 가족들의 생계를 위해 유곽에서 매춘을 하는 송금화가 매독에 걸리지만 예수라고 착각한 닮은 꼴의 외국인을 손님으로 맞이하면서 병이 나았다고 믿게된다는 이야기를 다루고 있다. 영화에서는 아쿠타가와 류노스케를 모델로 한 소설가 오카가와 류이치로가 신문사 시찰단원으로 중국에 가게 되면서 유곽의 금화를 만나서 사랑을 나누는 이야기를 중심으로 그려내고 있다.