Gu Zhun, the celebrated prodigy in his hometown, returns in triumph and revives his theatrical career in an old opera house.
His former classmates reunite. One treads carefully in government, another struggles to get by in business, and another fights to make ends meet. Each hides their own secrets and hardships.
The passionate young woman Sun Yingying comes seeking him out, and amid the clashes onstage and off, she can no longer tell fiction from reality. She falls for the down-on-his-luck prodigy, while also uncovering the secret behind his return. Zhou Chunmo, a brash young theater student, sees through the facade Gu Zhun has built around his work and his life, forcing him to revise his plays again and again and keep pace with the younger generation.
The plays portray the ups and downs of life in Jiangnan, while real joys and sorrows unfold backstage. Old flames, rumors, ideals, and reality become hopelessly entangled. Onstage, there are stories; offstage, there is life.
When the curtain rises and applause fills the theater, some set off toward a new beginning, while others suddenly take their final bow.
