A man returns to his native Beijing after serving in a labor camp, to find that he has no family or prospects or friends. He tries to make a living, but his old underworld contacts drag him back into a life of crime.

A teenage girl reckons with love and loss as her mother battles a dangerous disease.

Melodrama originally released as two-part films, part one "Soul of Ruins"(废墟之魂) and part two "After the Storm" (暴风雨后).