How could Ling Tan, a simple Chinese farmer who paid little attention to the world outside his own valley, be prepared for what was about to happen? He knows nothing of the great political changes that are currently sweeping through country after country. He thinks only of his land and his large family, and with them, he is content. His life changes suddenly and cruelly when the armed forces of the East Ocean enemy attack. Ling Tan's peaceful life is shattered as some of his family are killed, and others leave. Shocked, terrified, suffering unimaginable horrors, the remaining family members survive, and, in their different ways, begin to fight back.