During the Cold War era of the late 1960s and early 1970s, a Beijing teenager named Qi Weizhi and his mother relocate to Hanzhong City, a small town in the Qinling Mountains, following the Sino-Soviet conflict. Removed from the prevailing political climate, Qi Weizhi experiences a straightforward coming-of-age. In Hanzhong, his mother, Qi Xiuxuan, emotionally distant due to her husband's past, keeps the details of his death from him. Finding affection with their class teacher, Zhou Wenyao, Qi Weizhi develops a quiet fondness for her.