Synopsis
In the midst of investigating a serial murder case, detective Park Sang-kyu (Jin Yi-han) confiscates a clump of wild berries from a smuggler, suspecting that these colorless odorless berries are key to solving the mystery behind the murder. Meanwhile, leading merchant Yang Man-oh (Lee Chun-hee) expands his power and influence by accusing his rival Hong of illegal doings to the police bureau. Shortly after, the city of Hansung is terrorized once again when another corpse is found in the marketplace. Detective Park suspects that the perpetrator is using the berries to murder victims. But as he begins to unlock the puzzle, he discovers that there is more to the case than meets the eye
The three main characters of this drama pose the question of what a "righteous life" is in the era of political and social turmoil of the late Joseon Dynasty, when progressive thinking and the Confucian social reform movement "Silhak" began penetrating into Joseon from the Qing Dynasty. It was also a period when the 400-year Joseon Dynasty was gradually losing ground, unable to respond to external and internal changes in the wake of the Japanese invasion of the 16th century and the Manchu War, resulting in clashes between the king, who dreamed of restoring his authority through powerful reforms aimed at improving the lives of the people at the grassroots level, and conservative political forces, which felt threatened by the self-justified royal authority.
