In the rural outskirts of Jiangjin, Chongqing, a struggling family of three makes a living through farm work.

One day, when the son, Wang Ming, chases a goose into a pond, the father, Wang Mingde, is too absorbed at the mahjong table to notice-an oversight that indirectly leads to the death of the mother, Lan Xufen.

Bound by mud and misfortune, the fates of the three entangle in a ceaseless cycle where cause and consequence become indistinguishable.