Fu Gui and Jia Zhen endure tumultuous events in China as their personal fortunes move from wealthy landownership to peasantry. Addicted to gambling, Fu Gui loses everything. In the years that follow, he is pressed into both the nationalist and communist armies, while Jia Zhen is forced into menial work. They raise a family and survive, managing "to live" from the '40s to the '70s in this epic but personal story of life through an amazing period.