During the early War of Resistance Against Japan in Baiyangdian, Hebei, the Yanling Squad, led by Communist Party member Hei Lao Cai, conducted effective guerrilla warfare. Yang Xiaomei, fleeing abuse from her husband Zhang Jinlong, joined the squad and developed feelings for farmer Niu Dashi. Zhang Jinlong, unable to change, defected to the Japanese. As Japanese sweep operations intensified, Xiaomei, Dashi, and Zhang Jinlong faced different paths in the conflict.

During the Japanese occupation, a group of communists are publishing a newspaper

It is an autobiographical fiction starring Ivens as an old man who has spent his life trying to "tame the wind and harness the sea" by capturing them on film.

Occurring at the time of the Chinese Civil War, following the victory over Japan, Nationalist agents fail in trying to destroy the student movement in Beijing.