Jan Dara

In the 1930s Siam, Jan is born into a wealthy but dysfunctional family. His father, Khun Luang, views him as cursed because his mother died giving birth. Jan is relegated to servant tasks while Aunt Waad is brought in to care for him.

Luang's sex addiction spills into the estate, with him having affairs with many women. Jan is constantly exposed to this promiscuity, which fuels his jealousy and confusion. The household atmosphere becomes tense and morally charged.

Waad and Luang have a daughter, Kaew. Jan is treated by Waad as her son, creating tangled loyalties within the house. Kaew grows up amid the same environment that shapes Jan's later life.

Teenage Jan becomes friends with Khen, the cook's son, who introduces him to sex through Saisoi. Jan loses his virginity to Saisoi and begins to explore desire. He also starts pursuing Hyacinth, a student he escorts home after school.

Luang's long-time mistress Boonlueang moves into a guesthouse on the estate and forms a sexual relationship with Jan. She is surprisingly compassionate toward him, offering a different kind of companionship. Their affair pulls him away from Hyacinth.

Jan's involvement with Boonlueang causes him to hesitate about pursuing Hyacinth. He writes a farewell letter to her, effectively ending their relationship for the moment. He resumes the affair with Boonlueang.

Teenage Kaew becomes resentful toward Saisoi after learning of her relationship with Khen. She accuses Jan of rape to set him up, and Waad defends him, but Luang banishes Jan and Khen from the estate. Jan is forced to leave the family home.

Jan leaves Bangkok, and later Waad reveals a terrible truth about his origins: he was conceived after his mother was gang-raped by Waad's then-boyfriend and his friends. The revelation leaves him questioning who his real father might be.

Years later an adult Jan returns to the family estate in Bangkok. Kaew is pregnant, and to repair the family's reputation he is forced into a loveless arranged marriage between Jan and Kaew. Jan agrees, provided he is promised the deed to the estate.

Jan discovers that Luang is Kaew's father and uses this knowledge to gain power over Luang and Kaew in exchange for maintaining the family secret. He rekindles his affair with Boonlueang, and Hyacinth dies of typhoid during his years away.

During the wedding to Kaew, Jan impulsively has sex with a maid in front of the portrait of his mother, acknowledging the cycle of abuse. Kaew gives birth to Pree, a child of Kaew and Luang who has Down syndrome, and she curses the baby, naming him Pree.

Luang, crippled by old age and guilt over impregnating his daughter, witnesses Jan having sex with Boonlueang and falls into a catatonic state. He remains largely withdrawn from life thereafter.

After helping Jan raise Pree and seeing that the house has settled, Waad leaves the family to become a nun. The estate continues under Jan's uneasy rule as the new head of the household.

Jan learns Kaew has a long-time secret affair with Boonlueang. He agrees to share Kaew in exchange for a child, but he repeatedly rapes his wife, who is attracted only to women. When Kaew becomes pregnant with Jan's child, she aborts the baby in horror.

Over time, Jan becomes impotent and cannot be aroused by anyone. Kaew maintains some authority in the premises, while Luang remains catatonic. As the house settles, Jan is left to ponder who his real father might be.