Seni, a club owner, is under pressure by a rival, Wan, to pay an outstanding loan. Upon hearing that he has a long-lost brother named Sema, Seni sends his loyal lieutenants, Tom and Pon, to visit Sema, only to find that Sema has died. Seni decides that he can use the situation to his advantage, and buries Sema's body in a forest.
Noi runs a rural bar and guesthouse called the Paradise Hotel. He tends bar and arm wrestles any challengers. The hotel, which has only one room, already has a guest, a man named Chana. Chana is annoyed that the hotel plays host to various musical groups, including a man who sings European opera, another man who practices the trombone, a Peking opera troupe, a Filipina ballad singer and a brass band that accompanies two bare-knuckles boxers.
In 1936 in rural Bang Kapi, among the rice fields, Kwan and Riam, the children of rival village chiefs, fall in love. Riam's father disapproves of the relationship, and wants to marry her off to Joi, the son of a wealthy local nobleman. Riam's father, Joi and some other men go to confront Kwan and find him on the spirit-house island with Riam.
