In 1927, Shanghai was shrouded in white terror. On the day Communist Party member Jian Hua was killed by the enemy, his son was born. The leader of the underground party transferred his wife Min Wen to the Soviet District, and entrusted his son to the worker Gu Argen for adoption, naming him Xiaoliang. After several twists and turns, Xiao Liang was adopted by an official family. At the age of 10, Xiao Liang learned of his own background and fled to Shanghai to find his mother. Min Wen also happened to go to North Jiangsu to pick up Xiao Liang, but Xiao Liang was no longer there. Xiao Liang was found wandering on the street by Gu Argen, and he led him to Wuhan with refugees. He was blown up halfway through the journey. With the help of a wounded soldier, Xiao Liang arrived in Wuhan and became a Xiaobalu.
In the snowy countryside of northern China, Wen receives a telegram informing her that her father is dead. She travels to the city and finds he was branded a reactionary in the midst of the Cultural Revolution. She is distraught, and on the way home, she is harassed and attacked by thugs, but she stays in the home of a kind-hearted doctor.
An art professor find a piece of stitch work made by his long-missing lover who suffered a lot of hardships.
An agent infiltrating the Nationalist Party in wartime Shanghai finds himself under threat.