In pre-unified China, the King of Qin sends his concubine to a rival kingdom to produce an assassin for a political plot, but as the king's cruelty mounts she finds her loyalty faltering.
Follows a Red Army company from training through to combat in the Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979 and the aftermath of war, focusing on the anger created by corruption among the Party elite.
A couple separate when the successful husband takes 3 mistresses. The wife becomes successful on her own.
The Feng family and Zhao family are close due to a wartime incident but events lead to them breaking off their relationship.