A middle-aged bar hostess, known as Mama or Keiko, faces a dilemma: marry or buy her own bar. Her family demands financial support, her customers crave her attention, and she struggles with debt. The film sheds light on the challenges and consequences of being a bar hostess, highlighting the ways in which the system can trap and even destroy those who are a part of it.

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
A middle-aged woman struggles to escape the shackles of financial debt and the suffocating pressure of societal norms and others' judgments.