The structure of 13SNd is investigated through the fi+-decay of 138pm, whose decay half-life is measured to be 3.24_+0.05 min. A level structure comprising 27 excited states and 52 transitions is constructed. With the help of deduced ft values and internal conversion coefficients, spin-parity assignments are made to many states in 138Nd and to the ground states of 138pm. From the positron end-point energy measurement, the total decay energy is determined to be 5.4 +_0.2 MeV, which is compared with the predictions of several mass formulae and with the decay energy systematics of the N = 77 isotones. The structure of 138Nd is discussed in the light of nuclear systematics of the N = 78 isotones.