In a rural village west of Bangkok, Mak (Winai Kraibutr) is conscripted and sent to fight in the Siamese-Vietnamese War (1831–1834).

A series of flashbacks reveal that Nak had a difficult childbirth and both mother and child died from complications.

The kingdom's most respected Buddhist monk, Somdej Toh, intervenes and, in a tearful farewell, Nak repents, leaving her husband for this life.

The monk has the centre of her corpse's forehead cut out, thus releasing her spirit, and makes a girdle brooch of it.

The allegedly true story of Mae Nak Phra Khanong is Thailand's most popular ghost tale.

[1] A popular shrine dedicated to her at is at On Nut, Sukhumvit Soi 77 in Bangkok's Suan Luang (formerly Phra Khanong) District.

The old tale has been depicted on film many times since the silent era, one of the most famous being Mae Nak Pra Kanong in 1958.

British filmmaker Mark Duffeld directed a version in 2005 called Ghost of Mae Nak.

Another retelling of the Nak legend is Pee Mak Phrakanong (2013),[2] a film directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun, which relates the story from the husband's viewpoint.