Chen Jin uses every means at his disposal to keep the dozens of residents at an orphanage fed. Police officer Shen Guangyao follows him and investigates, but never gets anywhere. Sister Ying fled to Hong Kong in the 1960s, where she meets Chen Jin. Their relationship is a mix of love and conflict, until she becomes the orphans' only mother. Through the lives of the orphans, the novel paints a vivid picture of society in all its forms.
