In Taiping Town, a frail young girl named Liu Yuenu makes a living by crafting paper figures. Disdained by her brother, Yuenu lives alone in the mountains. Unexpectedly, within half a month, the siblings suffer tragic fates. One commits suicide in her bedroom, her blood staining the ground; the other is found hanged by a woman's long hair in a theater. Detective Zhang Yiren, invited by the town's old headman, arrives to investigate. On his arrival night, he encounters strange events, but is fortunately helped by a beggar girl named Gouzi. However, a series of bizarre murders occur in the town, and rumors of paper figures possessing souls and vengeful spirits begin to circulate…

A young man travels from his hometown to Hengdian, the place where the country's biggest movies are filmed. Like many others, his dream is to become a movie star. However, the life of an actor proves to be very harsh, and only a select few will ever be anything more than extras.