Lena Lin takes on all housework after marrying into her husband's family. Her mother-in-law demands Lena's dowry fabric for brother-in-law's new clothes. Her weak-willed husband never speaks up for her. Lena discovers she is pregnant and proposes to divide the family. Elders show favoritism, giving fertile land and grain to other sons, leaving her with old cave dwellings and a broken pot. Pregnant and left with nothing, she must fight to build a stable life.