Chi-Tzu daydreams of home-cooked meals surrounded by family and more while diligently navigating Sun-Tze's bachelor kitchen; a young ex-soldier attempts to escape his prescribed rural life by sitting the national college entrance exam; Qin Shan and his wife grapple with illness, love and loss amidst their precious potato plants; two estranged sisters reflect on memories of a long-lost bond; Liben and Shunshun's fortunes ebb and flow on the shores of Backflow River, where everyone crosses to make it big somewhere else.
Five stories from China's foremost writers, including Jia Pingwa, Liu Zhenyun and Chi Zhijian, capture the domestic bonds and dramas of people living in modern China today, exploring the challenges and strange graces of life in this vast and complex land.