During China's Warring States period, a district prefect arrives at the palace of Qin Shi Huang, claiming to have killed the three assassins who had made an attempt on the king's life three years ago.

It is the late 1920s when six-year-old Yingzi and her family move to Beijing. As Yingzi explores the busy streets and alleys, she befriends a widow who, driven mad by grief, stands vigil at the entrance of her hutong, waiting for her missing daughter to return.

After villager Gu Dahe reports criminal leader Wei Tianlang, he mysteriously disappears, and his sister dies under suspicious circumstances. Amid a nationwide anti-crime campaign, Lei Yang, captain of the criminal investigation unit, steps in to uncover the truth and bring justice.

Despite his family’s famed expertise on ancient relics, Xu Yuan makes a simple living as the owner of an electronics shop, eager to distinguish himself from a disgraced ancestor who was executed for treason after stealing a Chinese artifact for Japan. But when a descendant offers to return the relic to China, Xu Yuan uncovers a decades-old mystery and soon embarks on a journey that could finally restore his family’s reputation—and may also cost him his life.

The film tells of the attempts made by a Beijing van driver to obtain his wage arrears from travel agency boss even to the point of kidnapping the latter's Singaporean girlfriend (Jacklyn Wu).