Set in a small Northwest China village on the Loess Plateau, the movie sketches the life of a rural woman teacher, Zhang Meili, trying to help the villagers overcoming poverty. She believes that education is the only way the locals can change their fate. Zhang and Xia Yu - with different social backgrounds - experience conflicts, understanding and friendship. Zhang, despite living in a poverty-stricken area, encourages her students, much like herself, to maintain their dignity.