The life of Tao, and those close to her, is explored in three different time periods: 1999, 2014, and 2025. Like the country itself at the end of the 90s, young Tao is at a crossroads: two men vie for her favor: Jang Yinsheng, runs a gas station and represents the new, capitalist China. Liangzi, toils in a coal mine and embodies the old, communist China.
