After the death of her policeman father, Xiaomai begins to look over his old journals filled with notes about the cases he investigated over the years. The mention of a purple scarf in the notes particularly catches her attention, prompting her to purchase a similar scarf from a mysterious website that claims to sell everything, as long as one can pay the price. Soon after, Xiaomai's close friend is found dead, strangled by a purple scarf. All of this awakens Xiaomai's memories of her childhood sweetheart Qiushou, whose mother was also strangled to death with a purple scarf by an unknown killer. Xiaomai and Qiushou grew up together and fell in love, but he suddenly disappeared from her life 15 years ago without a word. She begins to believe that Qiushou has returned and may be seeking revenge.
1969. Chen Zhen es un joven estudiante de Pekín al que envían a Mongolia Interior para educar a una tribu de pastores nómadas. Pero el que realmente aprende es Chen: sobre la vida en esa tierra infinita y hostil, la libertad y la responsabilidad, y la criatura más temida y reverenciada de esos lugares, el lobo. Sin embargo, la relación de atracción existente entre esas criaturas complejas y casi místicas con el ser humano se ve amenazada cuando un oficial del gobierno central decide por todos los medios eliminar los lobos de esta región.
Bajo la dinastía Qing, Liu Jin-xi, fabricante de papel, lleva una vida apacible en un pueblo remoto con su mujer Ayu y sus dos hijos. Pero la llegada de un detective cambiará sus vidas...
