The year is 1938 and in China, war is raging with Japan. China’s supply lines have been cut; and a new supply road from Burma to Kunming is China’s only hope of survival. Wang, an engineering student from Beijing, is sent by the Central Government to the rustic world of southwest China to obtain the cooperation of villagers in the building of this lifeline. What Wang discovers in this rural area is terrain that is virtually impossible to cross and full of bandits; an absence of young men to assist; and two rival villages he must somehow have agree to cooperate on road construction. He must also overcome the villagers’ objection against any road cutting through and destroying their sacred forest. Moreover, when the daughter of one village chief falls in love with Wang, further village rivalry is fueled. Constantly roaming around the villages too, is a deadly bandit with a mysterious past. Will the villagers survive a deadly encounter with Japanese spies and find a way to accomplish a near impossible task? With nothing less than the future of China itself in the balance, success is the only option.