Plot Summary

When it's time for the Chinese gaokao, the entire country comes to a standstill. For nearly 10 million high-school students, this two-day national college-entrance exam will determine where--and if--they get to study. It is not uncommon for the fates of entire families to hinge on the results. Like so many others, Nian has been focused on preparing for the exam at the exclusion of everything else and is all alone. A classmate has committed suicide and she has become the target of relentless bullying. Fate brings her together with small-time criminal Bei and the two of them seal a pact.