Фильм-опера рассказывает легенду о Гун Ся (её имя переводится как Красная Заря) — жительнице Северного Китая, которая в тяжёлые дни жестоких боёв Народной армии с гоминдановцами хитростью завела врагов в непроходимое ущелье и помогла устроившим там засаду бойцам Народной армии полностью уничтожить вражеский отряд.
О любви молодого командира Народно-освободительной армии и девушки из деревни Любао, о том, как помещик хотел просватать её за гоминьдановца и как командир спас свою любимую от этого брака.
Starring in numerous singing films, Zhou Xuan was one of the most beloved singers in both cinema and recording industries for her 'golden voice'. Popular nightclub singer Zhu Lan (Zhou) is originally in love with impoverished painter Fang Zhiwei (Gu Yelu), but is taken advantage of by rich playboy Ye Chunhua (Wang Hao) at her most vulnerable time. To add to her misfortune, Zhu discovers her being an adoptee. She also learns the heartbreaking truth about her birth parents which intertwines with her own life across generations. Eventually, irreversible tragedy awaits with revenge exacted for past wrongs. In a case of art imitating life, the songstress's life and upbringing resemble Zhou Xuan's own, making the film even more heart-wrenching. The 'Song Fairy' Chen Gexin composed the film's entire music with six songs sung by Zhou. 'Song of a Songstress', sung towards the end of the film, adds poignancy to the film with its discourse on the joy and sorrow in life.
Four sisters, each with their different characters, embark on their separate roads to romance. Elder sister has vast experience of romance; second sister is predisposed to vampiness and wantonness; third sister is righteous and of noble character; fourth sister is just reaching puberty and experiencing the pangs of first love. Being sentimental, flirtatious and amorous, the four sisters form a backdrop conducive to songs and tripping the light fantastic.
