鹽份地帶靠近將軍溪的蘆竹溝旁一眼望去，盡是荒蕪的鹽田，鹽田中央矗立一間破舊小木屋，裡面住有一對相依為命祖孫，祖父水龍仔因長年喝含砷量過重的井水得了盛行的烏腳病，右腳早已被鋸掉，左腳也又黑了一大塊，痛苦不堪。此地居民都知道喝井水遲早會得烏腳病，要被鋸手、鋸腳，然而不喝水卻沒辦法生存下去，所以坊間流行一句話「不喝井水，難道要喝海水嗎？」到處可以聽到哀號的聲音，當然水龍仔也是其中之一，他的生命力完全來自於寶貝孫子阿鐘仔。

阿鐘仔就讀蘆竹國小五年甲班，同學戲稱「憨鐘仔」，他的頭腦很簡單，上學對他而言只是一種形式，每天到學校最快樂的事就是清掃水溝廁所。他阿公最喜歡吃虱目魚，有一次挖了一堆蛤仔，結果挖到地方惡霸大目降仔的蛤仔田，因而被打個半死，從此大目降仔也成了他心目中的魔鬼……

阿鐘仔的媽媽桃花仔離家十幾年，從沒回來過，有一天桃花仔跳脫衣舞的戲班來到了蘆竹，因而桃花仔才有時間去探望兒子阿鐘仔，還帶了玩具和新書包送給阿鐘仔。

傳統的歌仔戲班，隨著社會形態改變，正面臨了瓶頸，這戲班的團主阿公仔(李天祿)是小龍仔聊天的對象，孫子順吉仔和阿鐘仔是同班同學也是玩伴，女兒秀美仔對水龍仔祖孫兩孫兩人又特別照顧，所以說是水龍仔的好厝邊。

贫穷加上乌脚病让他们活的很无奈，他们不怪谁，只怪自己的命。大不了就是把手砍掉，把脚锯掉就不痛了。 邱水龙是典型的写照，在十几年前就因为乌脚病锯掉了一只脚，另一只脚又黑了一大块，锯掉也是迟早的事。 　　 　　早年儿子出海被大海吞噬，媳妇(桃花仔)浪迹他乡，跳脱衣舞维生，留下天资较差的孙子(阿钟仔)两人相依为命。憨厚的阿钟仔到学校最快乐的事，就是把水沟和厕所打扫的乾乾净净，但是还是受到校长老师的鄙视冷落……

'Such a Life' is quite a sad film. It is set in the sixties, in a village on the west coast of Taiwan, where many are succumbing to 'black foot', a disease caused by drinking contaminated well water. The only 'cure' is to amputate the afflicted limb, and to avoid drinking the contaminated water. Many in the village were already sick, and few could afford to have tap-water installed. At the center of the story is Ah Chung, who lives with his grandfather, who has already lost one leg to 'black foot'. In the same village also live an opera family, who are finding things increasingly difficult there, an oyster farmer, who complains that his oysters are being poisoned by a nearby pharmaceutical plant, and an assortment of children who enjoy swimming in the sea, and who bully Ah Chung. A significant portion of the action also takes place in the village school, where Ah Chung is having trouble keeping up with the fees.