The novel is set in the historical period extending from the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China, a period during which China was rife with internal turmoil and the struggle between political factions, militias and gangs. The novel briefly recounts the life of its hero Lin Xiangfu, who grew up in a well-off family in northern China, and the coincidence that brought him and his wife, Ji Xiaomei, together on the continent. Lin spent the most beautiful days of his life with her and had his only daughter, Lin Baijia, before Xiaomei stole a number of gold bars that he inherited from his family and fled south with her first husband, Ah Xiao, to an imaginary city, and Lin Xiangfu's journey in searching for her and moving from one city to another, and what he met during this long journey full of excitement and suffering.
Through it all, Yuhua presents a panoramic picture of the events and turmoil in Chinese society during the historical period from the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China, and the suffering of the Chinese countryside and ordinary Chinese people, who are the focus of most of Yuhua's writings.
