In 1988, fisherman Zhou Haisheng captured a merman and used its tear pearls to exchange for money to pay off debts. Faced with huge profits, the couple went from perfunctory procrastination to forced imprisonment, constantly forcing her to shed tears and condense pearls. Physically and mentally damaged, the merman was rescued by Liang Shouyi after being abandoned on a desolate beach. Under the witness of everyone, she sorted out the accounts and only recovered the wealth taken by force. Zhou Haisheng and his wife repaid their debts with labor and finally gained inner peace, while the merman returned to the deep sea. The story shows the erosion of conscience by greed, and also presents redemption and self-rescue.