In the 16th year of the Republic of China, Shen Ruolan, the military governor’s wife, is forced by her mother-in-law Zhao Jinfeng to leave her marriage for bearing two daughters. Her husband Lu Jingchuan tears up the divorce paper and breaks the family rod in public, fleeing with his wife and daughters. Faced with clan persecution and cut-off finances, Shen Ruolan qualifies as a lawyer. She sues the clan, fighting for her right not to be cast aside and speaking up for oppressed women everywhere.
