The story begins in the midsummer of 1980 in the restless Jiangzhou City. Chen Weidong, an educated youth who returned to the city, could not find his place in the torrent of the times; Zhang Jun, a passionate and impulsive boy from the steel rolling mill, was unwilling to be humiliated and oppressed by the dock gang; Li Mo, an orphan struggling to survive on the dock, was silent but fierce. Three young people with different backgrounds met in a street conflict, and the rope of fate bound them tightly.
Starting from holding a group at the junction of the factory area and the dock to keep warm and fighting local snakes, they relied on their courage, loyalty and meticulous thinking far beyond their peers, step by step to annex territory, recruit members, and establish an organization in the name of "loyalty" and "rules." They experienced the barbaric growth of the 1980s and took advantage of the "hard-core crackdown" in 1983 to eradicate dissidents; during the economic boom of the 1990s, they expanded wildly, getting involved in the freight, real estate, and entertainment industries, weaving a black gold network connecting officials and businessmen, and climbing to the pinnacle of power.
However, behind the huge wealth and power are endless desires, betrayal and killing. The old brothers part ways, a new generation of challengers is eyeing them, the fetters of family become a weakness, and the iron fist of the state machine will eventually fall. The story spans thirty years, follows the rise and fall of this organization, and profoundly depicts the struggles, choices and fate of individuals under the changing times. It is a majestic social epic and an elegy for the world.
