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Chao Phraya, the “river of the kings”, is still Thailand’s most important lifeline. It begins with the confluence of the River Ping and the River Yom at the city of Nakhon Sawan and flows 370 kilometres through the central plain and through the capital of Bangkok into the Gulf of Thailand. The “Chao Phraya Basin” comprises 30% of Thailand’s land mass and is home to 40% of the entire population; 78% of the country’s workforce is concentrated here. The water of the Chao Phraya supplies Thailand’s largest agricultural region, the river is the country’s most important transport route. On its way to the sea it flows past the ruins of the ancient royal city of Ayutthaya, steeped in history, past traditional river villages, pile-houses built in the water and state-of-the-art industrial plants. It determines the image of the capital Bangkok. The film portrays the story of people who live with and from the river. The tugboat captain who travels up and down the river with his family; the water policeman in his struggle for law and order; the monks who see to the preservation and population of the river fish, which are said to bring good luck; the owner of Thailand’s largest brewery; the waste disposal skippers in their hopeless struggle against the increasing pollution of the river; the director of a luxury hotel whose special attraction is its location on the riverbank.