The novel follows the turbulent twenty-year lives of three high school friends whose personalities, backgrounds, and ideals could not be more different. It explores human desire and integrity, morality and corruption, and the rupture and conflict of brotherhood. Wu Tianyu rises from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of political power, only to be destroyed by the greed and scheming that consume him. Lu Hengzhe falls from an idealistic scholar into a dark enforcer before withdrawing from the world and transforming himself. Chen Jianfei spends his life upholding justice and remaining fair and principled. Through their three paths, the novel paints a vivid picture of urban politics, good and evil, and tangled love and hate, bringing home its central theme: “Without steadfast ideals, one will eventually fall into the abyss; only by following the righteous path can one remain true to the end.”
