Fifteen days before the election, the daughter of a hopeful candidate goes missing. Yeonhong, the candidate’s wife, goes in search of her daughter while her husband remains focused on winning the election, but it seems that no one can be trusted, as Yeonhong begins to pick up clues about her daughter. The Truth Beneath is a hard-boiled detective drama with a female protagonist. It was an attempt at something new in Korean cinema, but at the time of release, it did not appeal to audiences. However, some critics of the time noted that this film was innovative and fresh in terms of both genre and subject matter. Initially, Yeonhong looks like a steely politician’s wife but in attempting to find her daughter, she reveals human qualities and fragility. There is no shame for her any more in being born in the countryside or not being so smart; the fact is, she becomes a clever confident person and the way she transforms is not only the maternal instinct but also the declaration that she will not let her life depend on someone else.