When the King"s governor, after falling into rebel hands and changing sides, is recaptured by royal troops and executed, his sons and grandsons are also condemned to death. They survive by subterfuge, but they have lost their place in society. The Poet tells the story of Kim, the youngest grandson, consigned to a life of vagrancy and genteel begging as a wandering poet. In his efforts to recover the family"s fortunes, he commits a second betrayal, this time against his own house. This is a haunting and luminous tale whose main themes are the search for self-respect and self-identity in an unjust society.