故事发生在十九世纪末的四川，出生在农村的郑么姑（许晴 饰）嫁给了杂货铺的老板蔡兴顺，成为了杂货铺老板娘。蔡兴顺性格老实而又木讷，非常不解风情，而郑么姑拥有美艳的外表，一娶进门便已经引来了风言风语。幸运的是，蔡兴顺有一个德高望重的表哥罗德生（尤勇 饰），每当有人想要欺负郑么姑时，总是罗德胜出面抵挡回去，一来二去之间，郑么姑和罗德胜之间产生了不应该有的感情。 　　罗德胜离乡数年，带回了想要从良的妓女刘三金（程希 饰），利用刘三金的美色榨干了粮户顾天成（赵军 饰）的腰包，也正是刘三金的出现让郑么姑和罗德胜决定不再压抑他们的感情。

With few other real options, when the young village woman in this story is offered an arranged marriage with a kindly but mildly retarded shopkeeper who lives in a nearby town, she readily accepts. Once she has settled into her new home, she becomes involved with her new husband’s patron, a man involved in some underworld trading activities.