An old teahouse in Beijing serves as the stage for a drama that unfolds over several tumultuous decades of modern Chinese history, from the waning days of the Qing dynasty to the eve of the People's Republic.

Liu Hulan (1932-1947) was a young female spy during the Chinese Civil War between the Guomindang and the Communist Party and stood for Communist. She was born in Yunzhouxi village, in the Wenshui County of the Shanxi province. She joined the Communist Party in 1946 and proceeded to become the secretary of the All-China Women's Federation. She was actively involved in collecting support for the Communist Party of China from the villagers of Yunzhouxi. This is a dramatization of her life.