Ping Chalad Na Songkhla dreams of becoming a gifted musician just like his royal musician parents. After his grandfather’s death, he is asked to release a woman’s spirit from her suffering, a task that foreshadows the deeper, darker forces at play in his world.
As an adult, Ping becomes a student of Master Duang Pisan Akaraseranee, a renowned master musician who owns the mysterious drum known as poeng mang. This drum is said to be made from the skin of a beautiful woman named Thip, a detail that drips with fate and tragedy. Ping’s path soon crosses with a young, radiant teacher who guides him in mastering the drum, but there is more to her than meets the eye: she is the ghost living inside the drum, the very spirit that haunts the instrument and tests Ping’s heart. The woman who teaches him, in truth, embodies Thip, and the revelation reshapes Ping’s understanding of music, love, and power.
Across the halls of the music school, an arrogant musician named Muan stirs trouble, pressuring students to abandon Master Duang and join the band of a greedy provincial deputy [Deputy Muen]. The conflict between ambition and loyalty spirals as several students meet grisly fates. Ping faces a brutal drum contest where Muan’s schemes are halted, yet the dread of the drum only grows stronger, for the poeng mang wields a deadly authority that seems to blur the lines between performance and peril.
The truth about Thip comes into sharper focus: she offered herself as a sacrifice to create the drum and has operated as its guardian spirit ever since. As more students succumb to the drum’s sinister influence, the Deputy orders the music school burned to the ground, a ruthless act intended to erase the source of this haunting power. When he attempts to seize the sacred drum for himself, Thip rises in defense of what she guards, and the Deputy—their sacrilege met with supernatural punishment—meets his doom as he is dragged to hell by those cursed by the drum.
In a crucial turn, Ping discovers a letter from Master Duang that contains an incantation to free Thip’s spirit. With this knowledge, he returns to the ruined academy and confronts the new, fragile present of the school. A wealthy patron, moved by Ping’s dedication, assists in rebuilding what was lost, laying the groundwork for a revival that stretches across decades. Ping eventually rises to carry on Master Duang’s legacy, guiding the revived institution into a new era.
Decades pass, and during a performance, Ping glimpses the ethereal vision of Thip once more. The sight reawakens the old magic and, in a final, poignant moment, he dies, reuniting with Thip in the afterlife. The story closes on a note that music, memory, and love can outlive even death when a guardianship over a sacred instrument is honored and kept alive by those who believe in its power.
