In the 1930s, on Hainan Island, the heroine, Wu Qinghua, escapes from Nan Batian, an evil landlord, and becomes the leader of a women's militia, under the guidance of Hong Changqing, a Communist Party secretary.[2]
On 11 November 2012, in Washington, D.C., a panel discussion with Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Dr,. Chi Wang, Dr. Carma Hinton, and Dr. Michael Chang discussed the effect of this film had on the Cultural Revolution and on Chinese film.[2]