七十年代。波澜壮阔的长江。武汉。

出身知识分子家庭的星子结识了右派家庭出身的陆粞，两人情愫暗生。因误会，陆粞酒醉后与装卸站美女水香发生了一夜情。星子考上了大学，粞受到新站长的提拔。粞终于向星子吐露爱意，但星子无法原谅他的错误，忍痛一再拒绝了他。

对爱情绝望的粞陷入了一场灾难性的婚姻，不久事业也陷入低谷。粞终日酗酒，罹患了癌症……

In the 1970s, Wuhan saw the Yangtze River surging forward in billowy waves…

Xingzi, from an intellectual family, falls in love with Luxi from a left-wing family. Quite unexpectedly, Luxi who got drunk had a romance with a pretty girl called Shuixiang working in the load-and-unload station. Afterwards, Xingzi went to college and Luxi was promoted by a new stationmaster. Luxi took heart of grace by asking for Xingzi’s hand but was declined by her who couldn’t forgive what he had done her wrong in those years. Luxi whose heart was broken was mired in a miserable marriage life. No sooner than that had he met the worst misfortune of his life. Hopelessly, Luxi gave himself up to drinking all day long and came down with a cancer….