In 1949 a Nationalist military officer is tricked into fleeing to Taiwan without his wife. His godson's father also remained on the mainland. They hope for national reunification.
Ouyang Lan is a woman doctor who served in the Chinese Volunteer Army in the Korean War. She returns home to Shanghai and a decision to adopt 2 orphaned children of a deceased colleague changes her life.
The 731 unit of the Japanese tries to escape the advance of Soviet forces in Northeast China.