Geum-ryong is the trumpeter in the army towards the end of the Joseon Dynasty. Tired of Japanese oppression, he leaves for Manchuria and on the way, meets with a young governor, the sniper Yun Bong-chun, and his girlfriend Jeon-ok. They settle down in a small town and work hard to develop it and educate the people. One day, pirates raid the town and as they cross the Duman River in an attempt to escape from the pirates, they all get shot to death by Japanese police officers who think that they are independence rebels. Geum-ryong blows on his trumpet until the very last moment before he gets shot to keep up the morale of his comrades. Na Wun-gyu picks his horn up and continues to blow, looking for his comrades in the snowy riverbanks of River Duman until he is also shot by Japanese police officers. The sound of the trumpet is the Koreans' rebellious cry against Japanese rule.