Hongwa was an orphan brought up by her uncle Diao Sanye, a powerful tobacco trader. Now that Hongwa had grown up Diao wanted her to marry Li Wu to secure his relationship with Li. As Diao escorted Hongwa to Li's house, he asked his good friend Long Daye to accompany him. Long then asked his son Long Ge to join the caravan as well. Ge was young and handsome and Hongwa fell in love with him at first sight. Diao's son Daniu, a secret admirer of Hongwa, was jealous of Ge and provoked him in a number of occasions. One day Daniu pretended to harass a widow and her son in the caravan. Ge stopped him but he rebuked that Ge had done this for his secret desire for the widow. Ge was outrageous and wanted to fight with him but was stopped by one of his men Dezhu. One day Ge heard Hongwa singing at the sunset. He replied by singing and passions grew rapidly between them. Daniu was even more jealous and continued his efforts to challenge Ge. Bearing his father's words in mind Ge refrained from confrontation with Daniu. Daniu told his father that Ge had an affair with Hongwa, which prompted Diao to see Long for clarification. Long firmly denied such allegations. In the caravan there was also a couple called Boheyou, a former prostitute, and Hua Jiyu, an actor who played the female role in Beijing opera. Boheyou was also the matchmaker for Hongwa and Li. Boheyou made a fuss of the affair between Hongwa and Ge, which prompted Hongwa's rebuke. Felt insulted, Boheyou persuaded Daniu to force his intentions on Hongwa. Hongwa cried for help, which alarmed everyone in the caravan. When Ge arrived, Daniu accused him of harassing Hongwa instead. Others in the caravan were afraid of Diao's clout and dared not utter anything. Long tried to pacify his old friend's tempers but failed. Meanwhile, a gang of bandits led by Zhou Qi came to raid the caravan. Everyone fled. Ge went to see Zhou alone and pleaded to him. Knowing that Long was in the caravan, Zhou promised not to seize the goods but took away Boheyou's sheep. Soon all the people returned and continued their journey. Boheyou asked Diao for compensation but Diao refused. Finally Ge gave her a bag of herbal medicine.

Diao was suspicious of Ge's generosity and thought that Ge and his father were informed of his opium smuggling business so that they could blackmail him some time later. Diao then went to interrogate Hongwa and intended to kill Long and his son. Angry at her uncle's ferocity, Hongwa told Ge and his father the secret business of Diao and asked Ge to accompany her to Shilipu so that she could report to the government. After Hongwa and Ge's departure Diao and his son accused Long of allowing Hongwa's escape with Ge. They pointed their guns at Long and forced him to continue with the journey. On their way Ge and Hongwa returned with a squad of policemen. Both sides opened fire at each other. Diao and his son were finally killed. Hongwa and Ge then returned home with his father to prepare for their wedding.

Starring: Hongwa - Lin Dai Long Ge - Zhang Yang Long Daye - Wang Yin Diao Sanye - Chen Youxin Diao Daniu - Liu Enjia Boheyou - Wang Lai Hua Jiyu - Yang Qun Dezhu - Ma Li