Plot Summary:Fishing village girl Ling Ling sets off to look for her cousin in Shanghai. She soon finds out that Shanghai is a city full of vice: she is raped, sold into prostitution, and later becomes a socialite who uses her earnings to help others. She still waits at the pier in the hope that she sees her sailor lover return from the sea one day. By then, the revolution is starting to gain momentum.
菱菱(黎莉莉 饰)出生于贫困的家庭之中,和相依为命的表哥靠着捕鱼维生。战争爆发了,战火烧到了菱菱的家乡,无奈之下,她只得和表哥一起逃亡大城市寻求更好的发展。两人进入了一家工厂打工,之后,表哥决定成为一名水手,离开了菱菱扬帆远航,而依然留在工厂的菱菱遭受了工厂少东家的诱惑,不仅失了身,还被卖到妓院被迫沦为一名妓女。 一晃眼两年过去,此时的表哥已经成为了一名革命战士,正在遭受敌人的追捕,在这样的身死关头,他和菱菱重逢了,菱菱冒着生命危险救了表哥,自己却因为藏敌的罪名而被判处了死刑。