The period drama therefore portrays life in Canton before the Sino-Japanese War during the mid-1930s, the Japanese Occupation between 1937 and 1945, the civil war and the establishment of the People's Republic of China which brings the drama to a climax as the leads who share a romantic relationship are split apart in 1949. Miss Kau, a former notorious drug dealer and "traitor" to the country, flies to Honolulu via Hong Kong, and Lau Sing, who, after a twist of fate, remains within Mainland China with amnesia, joins the Korean War of the early 1950s, restores his memory and attempts unsuccessfully to swim to Hong Kong and leave for Honolulu to seek his beloved Miss Kau after the gates were closed between Mainland China and Hong Kong. The drama concludes with Miss Kau and Lau Sing reuniting in 1979 in Canton, and living life together in the early 1980s in Hong Kong and travelling around the world.