Covers five decades in the life of Li Chunfen, a young ticket girl in rural Communist China, whose destiny turns on the dictates of her government and the route of the Xiangyang bus. As a young woman, Chunfen is loyal but naive. She never once doubts that the driver of the bus, her boss, Master Cui and the party leadership have her best interests in mind. It is not until she falls deeply in love, that she is exposed to the consequences and sacrifices of life in Communist China. Even then, Chunfen’s loyalty to her country is unfaltering.