After her senses are surgically restored, a formerly deaf mute teenager enlists in the army and is assigned to communications work. But her inexperience with even such simple tasks as answering a telephone lead her supervisor to conclude she is incompetent, and try to have her reassigned. However, a courageous action by another soldier leads him to reevaluate his judgment.
Qiong Hua is a slave girl of Nan Batian, a big landlord in Yelinzhai Village on Hainan Island. She has tried many times but cannot escape from the landlord's cruel oppression. Later, Nan Batian jails her in a water dungeon. Hong Changqing is the Party representative of a red detachment of women. He disguises himself as a wealthy businessman residing abroad and comes to her rescue. He pretends to buy Qiong Hua to be his slave, saves her from the abyss of sufferings, and instructs her to join the red detachment of women. At the outset, Qiong Hua joins the revolutionary rank to settle her personal grudge. Educated by Hong Changqing, she becomes a conscientious revolutionary fighter.
The passenger ship Haiyan, with more than a thousand people aboard, sails through a thick fog at night. Despite having the knowledge that there are reefs nearby, the captain refuses to stop or slow down.
Tian Zhenhua arrives in Shanghai to coach a local women's basketball team. Number 5 on the team, Xiaoje, excels at basketball but is unsure of whether to continue playing. As Tian gets to grips with training Xiaoje and the rest of the team, he reflects on his career as a star basketball player before the revolution.
1930's China. The village of a poor family is taken over by the occupying Japanese army. One son, Zhongliang, leaves his wife and young son to join a medic group for the Chinese Army. The other son, Zhangmin goes into hiding to protect his family. The focus shifts back and forth from the brothers' parents and Zhongliang's wife and son to Zhongliang's newfound life of luxury in a town not too far away. The plight of Zhongliang's mother, his wife, Sufan and her son, Kongeson is contrasted with Zhongliang's rise in a flourishing company.
