Opposites attract, but with unexpected results in this romantic drama set in China in 1978. Li Siping (Li Jie) is a rebellious 18-year-old who lives with his family in Xigandao, a town in Northern China. While the influence of the Cultural Revolution is fading in much of China, that isn't the case in Xigandao, which goes against the grain of Siping's anti-authoritarian nature. Siping doesn't take his job very seriously and would prefer to listen to music than think about his future, an attitude which doesn't sit well with his mother (Zhao Haiyan) and father, who have their hands full with his lackadaisical younger brother (Zhang Dengfeng). Siping is suddenly shaken out of his apathy when he meets Yu Xueyan (Shen Jiani), a pretty music student his age whose family has moved into the neighborhood from Beijing. Siping is attracted by Xueyan's beauty and impressed with her intelligence and spunk, and he wastes no time pursuing her. A romance grows between the two, but when Siping is drafted into the Army, their relationship is put on hold, and when he returns, he discovers circumstances have changed in unusual ways.