The story takes place in the mid 1920s, in a town controlled by the powerful warlord, Cao Zhen Fang. The Xu family who ran a successful soy sauce business is set up to fail by the ruthless warlord, pushing the family into poverty. To fulfill a marriage promise to the Xu family, adopted daughter, Shen Yingxiu (Charmaine Sheh), decides to take her elder sister Ying Di’s (Jiang Zuping), place to marry Xu’s only son, Jia Jun. The exposure of Yingxiu’s real identity leads to her father-in-law’s subsequent death due to shock from the deception. Yingxiu’s husband, Jiajun, is shattered by his father’s death and runs away from home. He later joins an army led by Xiaojiu to attack the Cao army for revenge. Meanwhile, Yingxiu is left behind to deal with the Xu household’s financial problems and a difficult mother-in-law. Furthermore, she and her mother-in-law are held hostage as retaliation to Jiajun’s attack on Cao’s army. In order to protect her mother-in-law, she suffers severe abuse and insults. Yingdi marries Cao’s son and briefly enjoys the luxurious lifestyle of the warlord family.