Cheng Pei-pei plays Golden Swallow, a fighter-for-hire who has been contracted by the local government to retrieve the governor’s kidnapped son. Holding him is a group of rebels who are demanding that their leader be released from prison in return for the captured son. After a brief encounter with the gang at a local restaurant, Golden Swallow is joined by an inebriated wanderer Drunken Cat (Yueh Hua) who aids her in her mission.

Constantly mistreated by her cruel, alcoholic husband Chun-yu (Wang Jung), frail Chan Sau-ying (Tanny Tien Ni) awaits certain death from tuberculosis. New servant girl Yi-wah (Chen Szu-chia) takes pity on her mistress’ plight but, after suffering Chun-yu’s abuse once too often, the pair proceed to drown him one evening. They dump his body in a near-by pond but Sau-ying believes that the man’s bloated corpse has risen from the bog to seek vengeance. Yi-wah dismisses her claims as the delusions brought about by guilt and her illness but it appears that the house is indeed being haunted by a corpse that will not be easily appeased.