The series is about the Chinese National Revolutionary Army Expeditionary Force in Burma fighting the Imperial Japanese Army during the 1942 Battle of Yunnan-Burma Road at the Second Sino-Japanese War.

The Chinese troops landed in Burma to support the British allied forces operations. The aim was to protect the road since it served as an important supply route after China's ports fell under Japanese control. When the British forces withdrew their support and surrendered, part of the remaining Chinese troops was forced to abandon their heavy equipment and retreat in loose formations through the harsh Burmese jungles, experiencing constant enemy pursue and ambush. Of the 100,000 strong Chinese Expeditionary Force sent to fight, only around 40,000 returned home.

The story follows a small group of soldiers being refuged in Yunnan, and is narrated through the eyes of a limping young Beiping student-turned-soldier named Meng Fanliao.