In the 1990s, mountain village girl Zhang Yanan was admitted to a provincial capital university, but her son-preferring parents forced her to marry coffin maker Jing Shi'an in exchange for a bride price. Her newlywed husband instead cut her ropes and made coffins to support her studies. Facing continuous extortion and obstruction from her original family, the two supported each other and finally broke free from restraints relying on knowledge, law, and struggle, settling down in the county town.