Set in early 20th century. Yuan Shih-kai is forced by Japan to sign on the twenty-one demands and transfers the possession of Shandong province to Japan from German. General Cai of Yunnan province decides to uprise and lead a punitive expedition against Yuan. A famous courtesan Xiao Feng Xian admires Cai's prestige and is arrested for covering Cai before uprising.
An underground CPC telegrapher, Li Xia, fights against the Japanese enemy and dies before the eve of Shanghai's liberation in 1939.