Tsi-Bing is living a wealthy and successful life. However, when he is manipulated by his mistress into believing that his wife is having an affair, he throws her out. When his mistress vanishes with all his money, Tsi-Bing is forced to relocate to a makeshift home with his three children, who are forced to take on various jobs, such as selling rice dumplings, to make ends meet. Will this unfortunate family be reunited one day?

The story centers on a man who loses his social and economic status but manages to regain his place in his family through sacrifices – much like the experience of female protagonists in melodramas. And unlike the prevalent female-centric melodramas of the time, this male-centric narrative was recognized as part of a subgenre of Taiwanese-language melodrama. The depictions of a powerful male figure losing his power before finally turning the tide, and a woman able to support herself after leaving home, both suggest the changing attitudes of the late 60s as people grew less convinced of the perfect family, but could still find beauty in its cause.

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