Gao Zhongqi (He Yundong), a man with a grudge against his father, becomes the chief of staff of the Handping Military Governor's Office. On the surface, he appears to be unperturbed and subservient to the dominant Marshal Qin, but in reality, he has been brewing a plot of revenge in his heart, and in the process falls in love with the simple, beautiful, and righteous college student Helan (Yuan Shanshan). The two fall in love, and He Lan gives Gao Zhongqi her hand-embroidered hibiscus brocade as a token of her love. However, Gao Zhongqi's vengeance kills He Lan's parents, and the heartbroken He Lan eventually marries Qin Chengyu (Huang Shaoqi), the son of Marshal Qin's eldest son, who has always been there to watch over her. When a Japanese agent, Chen Ruanling, kills Marshal Qin in order to bring in the hateful Gao Zhongqi, Helan and Qin Chengyu join hands to support the Qin family and kill Chen Ruanling as the family's fortunes fluctuate. When Helan was captured, she was saved by Gao Zhongqi and Qin Chengyu, who had joined the Communist Party, and later helped Gao Zhongqi get rid of the traitor Xue Jingde. The two of them were injured, but when he was dying, he returned the hibiscus brocade veil to Helan, and the love between them was eventually lost in the chaos of the world.