某日的清晨，文四郎在河畔边解救遭蛇咬伤的邻家女孩，一段发生在江户时代淡淡恋情於是沿著溪流缓缓展开。面对友情、不幸的命运、忍耐与恋情的锻鍊下，少年藩士文四郎在充满希望之中采取行动，企图找出自己生存价值的证明。其逐渐成长的姿态，很难不引人莫以名状的悲叹与动容。

Based on the jidaigeki novel, Semishigure, written by Fujisawa Shuhei. Duty and honor were the principles of the samurai, but just like others throughout history, greed and power motivated some while friendship, truth and love guided others. This is the story of Bunshiro, a true warrior who survives tragedy in his youth to become a great swordsman and defender of the weak, and Fuku, the love of his life. They first fall in love as teenagers, but her poverty and his tragedy separate them. After a corrupt official forces Bunshiro's father to commit suicide, he is treated like an outcast. Later, the same official tries to use Bunshiro in a plot to kill Fuku, who has become a wife of the local lord, but he turns the tables, saving Fuku and her child and uncovering the corruption. Many years later Bunshiro and Fuku meet again to reminisce about their lives, and the love that remains smoldering in their hearts.

후지사와 슈헤이의 소설이 원작. 지방 작은 번의 하급 무사 집안 마키 분시로가 정변에 휩쓸려 아버지을 잃고난 후, 무사로 혹은 한 인간으로 성장해 나가는 이야기. 어떤 역경이나 고난 속에서도 사람이 사람답게 사는 것이 무엇인지 진중하게 묻고 있는 작품.