In Shanghai in 1937, fog rolled in from the Huangpu River, carrying the smell of ink, coal, perfume and undercurrent. Shen Yan, a female reporter from Haiwang Daily, learned restraint and sharpness between ink and type. She interviewed dockworkers, went backstage at the theater, went in and out of the study room of a foreign company, and recognized the outline of people's hearts in the smoky streets - the silence and warmth of the military doctor Feng Sheng, the politeness and coldness of the businessman Gu Yanqing, the brilliance and fatigue of the famous actress Liu Suqiu, the sophistication of the patrolman Tian Mucheng, and the reticence and danger of Zhang Xi, the clerk of the French Consulate. The footsteps of war are approaching from far away, and the neon lights cannot illuminate the cracks on the dilapidated river bank. Every word in the newspaper may change fate, and every gaze may become a testimony. The story spans Shanghai's revelry and chaos, and experiences occupation and liberation, sinking and rising. The characters are involved in each other in the torrent of the times, redeeming each other, and hurting each other. There are no miracles in history, only people who endure and move forward in the dark night. The neon lights on Haiwang Street will eventually go out, but people under the street lights still have to recognize each other and continue walking.
