Hồng Minh

At a rural village where most men have perished in the revolutions against French colonisers, their remaining widows and grieving mothers must bear the brunt of rigid patriarchal expectations placed upon them.

Sơn applies to clerk for a director at a research institute but is instead assigned to spy on Linh, the director's beloved daughter. Offered a generous sum of salary while still struggling a secure a job, the young man happily undertakes the peculiar duty with great prudence, much to Linh's chagrin.

Núi is the son of a concubine in a wealthy family in 1960s Hai Phòng. Rejected by his father, Núi and his siblings face numerous hardships. As the war breaks out, they are sent to their maternal grandparents, in whose upbringing Núi’s life spirals into crimes and violence.